Just as the eyes of the world were focused on Gaza, the US Navy announced that it had intercepted 4 cruise missiles and 15 drones over the Red Sea. The missiles may have been launched by Yemen's Houthis, and the U.S. Navy intercepted them because they thought they could go north to attack Israel.
USS Carney destroyer of the US Navy
According to the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney, deployed in the northern Red Sea, carried out the interception mission. However, the U.S. Navy admits that it does not know exactly what the cruise missiles and drones really target. However, judging from the flight path of missiles and drones, the target of attack is most likely in Israel. In order to ensure Israel's security, the US military decided to intercept these missiles and drones.
As the Palestinian-Israeli situation intensifies, the U.S. military has strengthened its military presence in the Middle East, and the U.S. Navy has sent two aircraft carrier groups to the Mediterranean Sea to show support for Israel. In addition, US military bases and ships in the Middle East are also on alert to ensure Israel's security. The destroyer Carney was deployed in the northern Red Sea to protect against threats from the south. Judging from the map, the US Navy aircraft carrier battle group can only help Israel defend against attacks from the north, and the defense against the south is a weak link, so the US Navy has deployed Aegis destroyers here to enhance its defense capabilities.
Cruise missiles and drones were launched from Yemen and headed north along the Red Sea and across the Sinai Peninsula to attack Israel itself
It is believed that these cruise missiles and drones may have been launched by Yemen's Houthi forces, and they are probably the only ones around the Red Sea who have this capability. The Houthis is one of the Middle East armed forces supported by Iran, and Iran has provided them with a large number of weapons and equipment, in addition to common firearms and armored vehicles, including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, long-range drones and so on.
In September 2023, the Houthis held a military parade and displayed these weapons, including the Force Medium-Range Tactical Ballistic Missile, the Quds-4 ground-attack cruise missile, and the familiar "Sky Motorcycle" Witness-136 attack drone. These missiles and drones have a range of 1,000-2,000 kilometers and are capable of striking targets in depth in Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis demonstrate long-range land-attack cruise missiles
The Houthis have long been not what people think, they are rabble wearing slippers and holding AK-47s, who have not only completed regularization and modernization, but also have strong missile attack capabilities. In 2019, the Houthis organized cruise missiles and drones to attack the Saudi Buqaq oil plant, one of the world's largest refineries, nearly 1,000 kilometers from Yemen. The Houthis' attack on the Bughaq refinery forced Saudi Arabia to cut production capacity in half. It is precisely because of the fear of the Houthi's long-range attack capability that the US Navy deployed destroyers in the northern Red Sea in advance, thereby providing Israel with "shelter from the wind and rain."
Iran's rapid progress in the missile field has also greatly benefited the Yemeni Houthi armed forces on the "arc of resistance"
This time the Houthis time launched a long-range strike on Israel, it is likely to be instructed by Iran, after all, cruise missiles and long-range drones have a certain strategic strike effectiveness, and the Houthis must be deployed and can be used casually. With Chinese mediation, Saudi Arabia and Iran reconciled. The Houthis and Saudi Arabia also achieved a ceasefire, and the civil war in Yemen was over. In this case, the Houthis will certainly not go directly through Saudi Arabia to avoid Saudi miscalculation.
With the means of satellite positioning and guidance, the threshold for the development of long-range cruise missiles has been greatly reduced
These missiles and drones are supposed to head north along the Red Sea and then attack Israel via the Sinai. The Red Sea direction is not the main alert direction for Israel's air and missile defense systems, and although there are military deployments, it is relatively weak. Yemen chose this direction to strike in order to increase the probability of successful penetration. The U.S. Navy should have assessed the weakness of Israel's defenses, so it deployed the destroyer Carney ahead of schedule. After all, under the background of less miscellaneous sea surface, low-speed targets flying at medium and low altitudes, such as the Quds series cruise missiles and the Witness-136 UAV, are very easy to detect and intercept.
According to the US military, they intercepted 4 cruise missiles and 15 drones in 9 hours, and the entire engagement process dragged on for a long time. This is not surprising, because the flight speed of long-range UAVs and cruise missiles is very different, the Witness-136, a piston-powered UAV, flies at just over 200 km / h, while the Quds series cruise missiles use miniature turbojet engines and can fly at speeds of 500-600 km / h. Coupled with the different launch sequence, the US military will have a longer process from the first engagement to intercept the last drone.
A scene of close artillery fire on the Carney
The news that the U.S. Navy blocked a heavy blow for Israel was enough to break Israel into a cold sweat. The long-range strike by the Houthis against Israel is a clear signal that the armed forces of countries and regions in the Middle East have the means to attack Israel itself. In the past 20 years or so, most of Israel's opponents have been poorly equipped and have limited capabilities, and can only fight small things, unable to carry out long-range attacks on Israel.
Now with Iranian support, more and more Middle Eastern countries and armed forces have long-range strike means, and they can hit Israeli targets from farther away. For Israel, on the one hand, defense is becoming more and more difficult, it is necessary to establish a comprehensive and multi-level defense system, and the cost and expense will become more and more high, which will cause a heavy burden for Israel. On the other hand, counterattacks will be more difficult, for example, Yemen is 2,000 kilometers away, separated by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, etc., Israel needs to cross the Red Sea, travel long distances, labor and investment.
The Carney launched anti-aircraft missiles
Previously, Israel relied on the big tree of the United States and hid under the umbrella of the United States, which can be said to sit back and relax. Now that the strength of the United States is declining, it is becoming more and more difficult to maintain its global hegemonic status, and it is becoming more and more difficult to protect Israel, and Biden's urgent visit to Israel to persuade Israel to abandon large-scale retaliation is the reason. For Israel, blindly using force to oppress the Palestinians will not solve the problem, and it must consider the way to live in peace, after all, the United States cannot cover Israel every time.