Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Janae Chambers/US Navy
File photo of the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) in the Arabian Gulf on December 5, 2023.
CNN
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According to four US officials who spoke to CNN, a cruise missile launched by the Houthis into the Red Sea on Tuesday night came within a mile of a US destroyer before it was shot down. This marks the closest a Houthi attack has come to a US warship.
In the past, US destroyers in the area have intercepted these missiles at a range of eight miles or more. However, the USS Gravely had to use its Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) for the first time since late last year, which ultimately succeeded in downing the missile, officials said.
The CIWS is an automated machine gun designed for close-range intercepts and is used as one of the final defensive lines to shoot down an incoming missile when other layers of defense have failed to intercept it.
This incident highlights the ongoing threat the Houthis pose to US naval assets and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, despite previous US and British strikes on Houthi infrastructure inside Yemen. The close call comes just days after three US service members were killed in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants at a US outpost in Jordan.
A US official stated that the fact that the Gravely was not able to intercept the missile sooner does not indicate that the Houthis’ attacks have become more sophisticated.
The Houthis have continued to launch missiles and drones at vessels in the Red Sea, and on Wednesday morning were preparing to launch a surface-to-air missile that posed a risk to US aircraft operating in the region, according to US Central Command.
In a statement, CENTCOM said US forces successfully destroyed the missile before it was launched.
Since January 11, the US has carried out multiple strikes inside Yemen against Houthi weapons depots, command and control nodes, and storage facilities, military officials have said. Details on what percentage of the Houthis’ weapons capabilities have been degraded by the strikes have not been provided.
Iran, which supports and equips the Houthis, has continued to attempt to send the group weapons and supplies. Earlier this month, the US Navy seized Iranian-made ballistic and cruise missile components from a vessel off the coast of Somalia that was destined for the Houthis in Yemen, according to CENTCOM. Two US Navy SEALs died in that operation after one fell overboard and the other jumped in to try and rescue him.
Iran has also provided the Houthis with tactical intelligence and monitoring systems, which has allowed them to better target vessels in the Red Sea, CNN previously reported.
The US is currently considering how to respond to the drone attack in Jordan and could target certain Iranian or Iran-backed assets in the region with either strikes or cyberattacks, CNN reported. However, amidst the increasingly high tensions on multiple fronts in the region, US officials have repeatedly expressed that they do not want to get involved in a war with Iran.
“We are not looking for war with Iran. We are not seeking a conflict with the regime in the military way,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said this week. “We’re not looking to escalate here.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
