Rashi Mehta
The US Navy’s Red Sea fight has spent months battling Houthi missiles and drones threatening warships and civilian vessels described as the most intense combat of the sea service since the last eight decades.
Justin Smith, the Mason’s commanding officer in a recent interview said the deployment was “ highly successful, noting that it involved unprecedented sustained combat operations that have been unmatched since World War II.”
He further said “I am extremely proud of my crew’s performance and the resiliency throughout the entire deployment.”
Houthi attacks on vessels
The Us Navy said that Yemen’s Houthi group has launched “multiple attacks” in the Red Sea against a vessel carrying vegetable oil from Russia to China.
A US Central Commander said “Later, Iranian-backed Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen over the Red Sea toward MT Bentley I,”
“The USV caused damage, but MT Chios Lion has not requested assistance. No injuries have been reported at this time,” he added
The Red Sea is one of the world’s most used sea routes for transportation of oil and fuel and the Houthis have been targeting the cargo ships.
Threat environments
Us Navy has seen many combat since 1945, for instance, conflicts with Korea, Vietnam but the Red Sea fight is more intense than any of them after WWII. One exception was the Tanker War, part of the larger Iran-Iraq War in 1980.
Smith, the Mason captain said the Navy is m facing more difficult situations in the Red Sea than it did in the Persian Gulf in 1980.
“You are facing higher-end threats, you are facing being inside of a weapons engagement zone for days and months at a time,” Smith said.
“I think the difference between the Tanker War and what we are doing in the Red Sea is that longer, enduring threat and the ability to be inside of a larger area — always having that risk of being targeted or having an engagement that’s going to have to take place,” he added
“The challenges — from detection and the sustainment, and the watch teams and the readiness — is a lot higher. And that’s why I compare that more so to World War II than, I’d say, even outpacing what was seen during the Tanker War.” he further added
The air-defense battles
Archer Macy, a retired Navy admiral said, “They have to be ready to shoot on a moment’s notice.It’s a very high state of readiness, and you have to maintain it.”
“What the guys were facing in World War II off of Okinawa with the Kamikazes was a lot more than we have faced in the Gulf,” Macy noted
“Certainly, it’s the most intense air-defense challenge we’ve encountered in a long time. But it does not match up to World War II.” He further added
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