On 27 April, Yemen's Houthi rebels officially announced that they had shot down an MQ-9 "Reaper" drone worth $30 million over Yemen's Saada province, which was also the third US drone shot down by the Houthis since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict last year. At the same time as the good news of the air defense operation, the "ship raid battle" of the Houthis on the same day was also a remarkable success, and the British oil tanker "Andromeda Star", which appeared in the Red Sea, was hit by a Houthi missile. The Houthis, who have become more and more courageous in the war, have not only withstood the joint suppression of the US-British coalition forces and the EU escort fleet, but have also gradually demonstrated the "demeanor of a strong country". Now, the frightened Germany has retreated, and the German warships that had entered the Red Sea to escort the ship were about to withdraw from this land of right and wrong.
As we know, the U.S. Navy, as the world's largest navy, has always been concerned about saving face. After the war with the Houthis, in the early days, the US Navy's air defense interception could be described as a hundred shots, and the Houthis did not give the Houthis a chance to attack at all. At the same time, in order to weaken the war potential of the Houthis, the United States has also pulled its younger brother Britain to continue to carry out large-scale air strikes on the northern part of Yemen, the stronghold of the Houthis. However, the US-British coalition spent a lot of missiles, bombs and fuel, but it never hurt the Houthis.
At sea, American, British, and Israeli cargo ships are still frequently hit, and even US destroyers are not immune to attacks after the Houthis possess hypersonic missiles. In the air, in order to reduce losses, the US military has not dared to dispatch a large number of manned fighters, but mainly UAVs, however, the MQ-9 "Reaper" was destroyed one after another, which also made the United States lose face. It is no exaggeration to say that the US military in the Red Sea today is really in a dilemma.
The Houthis not only taught the United States, Britain and Israel a good lesson, but also terrified the EU countries that were about to move. After the outbreak of the "ship raid war" in the Red Sea, the EU countries did not have the same heart as the United States, nor did they actively respond to the US "Guardian of Prosperity" Red Sea escort operation, but separately launched the "Shield" escort operation, in order to get rid of the influence and control of the United States, and at the same time enhance the international discourse power while showing off their presence. As a great and military power in the European Union, the German Navy is naturally the main force of the "Shield" escort operation. Recently, however, the German Bundeswehr officially announced that the German Navy frigate "Hesse" participating in the escort mission has completed its mission and is about to return to Germany.
While the US-British coalition is still fighting with the Houthis, Germany announced the end of the escort mission, which is obviously illogical. As a matter of fact, the "Hesse" frigate has only stayed in the Red Sea for less than two months since it entered the Red Sea to escort convoys, and the number of operations in which it has actually participated is only four. However, it was these four operations that the Germans were frightened by the Houthis. After all, the "Hesse" frigate has a full load displacement of less than 6,000 tons, and its design level is stuck in the 90s of the 20th century, and its combat effectiveness has long been out of order, so it naturally cannot be compared with the main force of the US military's "Arleigh Burke" class destroyers.
Previously, the Houthi hypersonic missiles had hit the "Arleigh Burke" class of the US military, and the German military, which was already not wealthy, did not dare to let the "Hesse" frigate continue to take risks. In addition, the frigate "Hesse" was not well received by the US military. Although it is said that the European Union, the United States and Britain acted separately, and the "Hesse" frigate did not fall under the command of the US military, Germany belonged to the NATO camp after all, and the United States was an ally, and the two sides should cooperate tacitly in escorting ships in the Red Sea. However, the frigate "Hesse" had previously made an oolong incident. Due to a problem with the identification system of friend or foe, the "Hesse" frigate once mistook a US "Reaper" drone for a Houthi drone and almost knocked it down. For such an unreliable teammate, the United States will naturally put pressure on Germany.
However, although Germany's military strength is not as good as before, it is still one of the leaders of the European Union, and its influence cannot be underestimated. The withdrawal of the frigate "Hesse" will inevitably cause a chain reaction among the EU countries. In the future, in order to preserve their strength, more European countries will avoid clashes with the Houthis, and it is likely that they will withdraw from escort operations one after another. This also means that in the future Red Sea war, it will still be a one-man show between the United States and Britain. For the Houthis, who are becoming more and more courageous, the two pieces of fat meat of the United States and Britain are already a meal on a plate, which will be eaten up and consumed step by step, and finally it will be difficult to escape the fate of evacuating in embarrassment.