THE 6,000-ton french frigate Languedoc shot down two drones over the Red Sea, adding to a growing list of encounters between Western warships and missile-drones from Yemen, reports Qatar's Aljazeera.
The warship identified and destroyed two threats. The intercepts occurred several hours apart, first at 2300 hours local time and then again at 0130 hours.
The encounter occurred about 60 nautical miles off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen, far from any shore. Yemen's Houthi forces is known to possess Iranian-built Samad, Shahed and Ababil drones, which have more than adequate range to reach across the Red Sea. These are relatively low-tech, inexpensive devices: the estimated price of a Shahed-136 is in the range of US$20,000.
A video released by the US Navy shows that shooting down drone is expensive. The video, produced by the crew of the destroyer USS Carney, shows the ship launching multiple SM-2 or Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles from its VLS cell launchers.
Depending on purchase batch and missile type, these rounds are priced at about $1.0-2.1 million, about 50-100 times the price of a Shahed-136.
The US has said that it wants to form a new coalition of international partners to assure maritime security in the region. The new group would draw on the membership of the American-led Combined Maritime Forces coalition.
It would be the third international maritime security partnership for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in addition to the EU-led EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta and the CMF's existing CTF-153.
In a statement, a Houthi spokesman warned that all Israel-bound ships may be subject to attacks.
'If Gaza does not receive the food and medicines it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will become a target for our armed forces,' said a spokesman.
Houthis continue to hold the car carrier Galaxy Leader and its crewmembers as hostages near the port of Al Salif. Videos produced by Yemeni influencers suggest that the ship has become a tourist attraction, and even young children have been ferried out to visit the seized vessel.
SeaNews Turkey
The warship identified and destroyed two threats. The intercepts occurred several hours apart, first at 2300 hours local time and then again at 0130 hours.
The encounter occurred about 60 nautical miles off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen, far from any shore. Yemen's Houthi forces is known to possess Iranian-built Samad, Shahed and Ababil drones, which have more than adequate range to reach across the Red Sea. These are relatively low-tech, inexpensive devices: the estimated price of a Shahed-136 is in the range of US$20,000.
A video released by the US Navy shows that shooting down drone is expensive. The video, produced by the crew of the destroyer USS Carney, shows the ship launching multiple SM-2 or Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles from its VLS cell launchers.
Depending on purchase batch and missile type, these rounds are priced at about $1.0-2.1 million, about 50-100 times the price of a Shahed-136.
The US has said that it wants to form a new coalition of international partners to assure maritime security in the region. The new group would draw on the membership of the American-led Combined Maritime Forces coalition.
It would be the third international maritime security partnership for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in addition to the EU-led EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta and the CMF's existing CTF-153.
In a statement, a Houthi spokesman warned that all Israel-bound ships may be subject to attacks.
'If Gaza does not receive the food and medicines it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will become a target for our armed forces,' said a spokesman.
Houthis continue to hold the car carrier Galaxy Leader and its crewmembers as hostages near the port of Al Salif. Videos produced by Yemeni influencers suggest that the ship has become a tourist attraction, and even young children have been ferried out to visit the seized vessel.
SeaNews Turkey
