U.S. Navy Defends Three American Merchant Ships From Houthi Attack
Overnight Monday, the U.S. Navy blocked an attack on three U.S.-flagged ships off the coast of Yemen, continuing the service's run of success in thwarting Houthi aggression against American (not foreign-flag) vessels.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed Tuesday that the terrorist group attacked three American "supply ships" after they departed Djibouti, and asserted that these civilian vessels "had previously practiced aggression against Yemen." The group also targeted two U.S. Navy destroyers, he added, "triumphing for the oppression of the Palestinian people." Saree claimed that the strike achieved its objectives, but did not claim any damage.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the attack on Tuesday afternoon. The Mideast regional command said that U.S. Navy destroyers USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane successfully shot down "a range of Houthi-launched weapons" while transiting the Gulf of Aden on Monday and Tuesday. At the time, the two destroyers were escorting three American merchant ships, and none of the vessels were unharmed.
The Houthi attack on American merchant ships was the second attempt in two weeks, following a failed missile strike on the product tanker Stena Impeccable, the boxship Maersk Saratoga and the bulker Liberty Grace on Nov. 30. USS Stockdale and O'Kane successfully defended against that attack as well, and escorted all three into Djibouti. CENTCOM did not identify the vessels targeted in Monday's attack, but open-source intelligence analysts suggest that it was the same group of three U.S.-flag ships.
Centcom said Tuesday that this time, the munitions included multiple aerial drones and one anti-ship missile - a less severe threat than previous attacks, which have involved multiple anti-ship missiles.
Separately, the Houthis claimed to have conducted two drone strikes on the Israeli cities of Yaffa and Ashkelon. The Israeli Defense Forces have confirmed that one Houthi drone hit a residential building in Yavne, just northeast of Ashdod. No casualties were reported.
Ingalls Removes USS Zumwalt's Iconic Guns, Installs Hypersonic Missiles
The unique destroyer USS Zumwalt is back in the water after a yearlong drydocking at Ingalls Shipbuilding. The yard has removed the vessel's iconic twin cannon turrets and replaced them with a weapons system more suitable for high-end modern conflict - the Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missile, or CPS.
The U.S. Navy's futuristic Zumwalt-class destroyers were built to carry twin high-velocity cannons for shore bombardment, and these extra-large vessels resemble a sleek and stealthy version of a battleship. The number of ships in the class was cut back from 32 to three due to cost overruns, and the cost per round of manufacturing the specialized ammunition for the deck guns rose to an impractical $800,000-$1 million per shot. The production run for these costly high-speed shells was canceled, making the guns unusable.
The Navy's priorities have changed since the post-9/11 era, and shore bombardment no longer figures prominently, especially in an era of high-tech competition in the Indo-Pacific. China and Russia both possess antiship missiles that greatly outrange Zumwalt's cannons, even if shells were available. Recognizing this reality, the Navy is repurposing the high-end Zumwalt-class with the high-end weapon of the 2020s: hypersonic missiles.
Huntington Ingalls is in the middle of modifying first-in-class USS Zumwalt at Ingalls Shipbuilding, and the extra-sized destroyer went back in the water again last week. While in drydock, Ingalls replaced the twin 155mm Advanced Gun Systems on the foredeck with new tubes for the Conventional Prompt Strike system. Zumwalt can now carry four all-up round CPS canisters, each containing three hypersonic missiles. This will augment her small arsenal of 80 conventional Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells.
Initial plans called for leaving one of Zumwalt's nonfunctional guns intact on deck; however, aerial drone photos obtained by the AP appear to show that both guns have been removed.
Second-in-class USS Michael Monsoor will be next in line for conversion, and the work will be performed at Bath Iron Works. The total program cost for the upgrade is estimated at $1.1-2.0 billion.
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