U.S. Admits Houthi Missile Nearly Hit Destroyer, Launches More Strikes On Yemen

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An anti-ship cruise missile launched by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) into the Red Sea late on January 30 came within a mile of a United States Navy destroyer before it was shot down, U.S. officials told CNN and other outlets.

In the past, these missiles have been intercepted by U.S. destroyers in the area at a range of eight miles or more, the officials said.

The USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, had to use its Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) for the first time since the Navy began intercepting the Houthi missiles late last November, which ultimately succeeded in downing the missile, according to the officials.

The CIWS is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defense.

Following the attack on USS Gravely, the Houthis said that their naval forces carried out an operation targeting an “American merchant ship” in the Gulf of Aden.

They targeted the “American merchant ship KOI … with several appropriate naval missiles,” Houthi military spokesperson Brigade General Yahya Sarea said in a statement released late on January 31.

The Liberian-flagged container ship KOI is reportedly operated by Oceonix Services, a company based in the United Kingdom.

British maritime security firm Ambrey said on January 31 that a merchant vessel reported an explosion on its starboard after it was targeted with a missile while underway 69 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port city of Aden.

“Ambrey was aware that a missile was fired from Dimnat Khadir District, Taiz Governorate, Yemen,” Amrey said in an advisory note, without mentioning whether this vessel was the Koi.

Also late on January 31, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement posted on the X social platform, previously known as Twitter, that its forces struck and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile prepared to launch in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

In a separate statement released later, the command said that the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Carney had intercepted an anti-ship ballistic missile and three drones which were launched by the Houthis from Yemen in two separate engagements.

CENTCOM said in a third statement released early on February 1 that it had struck a drone control station and ten suicide drones of the Houthis in Yemen.

“U.S. forces identified the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] ground control station and one-way attack UAVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region,” the command said. “U.S. Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the UAV ground control station and 10 one-way attack UAVs in self-defense. This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels.”

Yemen’s Al-Masirah TV, which is run by the Houthis, said that an “American-British aggression” targeted the northern outskirts of the city of Sa’dah in northern Yemen late on January 31, another hit the town of al-Jabanh in the western province of al-Hudaydah early on February 1. No casualties were reported however.

The Houthis have targeted dozens of Israel-affiliated vessels and others owned by the U.S. and the UK since November 19 in response to the ongoing Israeli war and siege on Gaza.

The U.S. and the UK carried out dozens of strikes on military targets in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in retaliation over the last few weeks. Despite this, the group, which is backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, remains undeterred.

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