US Navy says must change to counter 'Iran's best' weapons in Red Sea
Oct 06, 2024
New York [US], October 6: US Navy Chief of Staff Lisa Franchetti said on October 2 that the US Navy is learning many lessons from the nearly year-long war against the Houthis , as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are changing the way they operate, according to the Business Insider news site on October 4 .
The Houthis have used drones and unmanned boats to attack vital commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and have threatened U.S. Navy ships since last fall. They have also launched anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles at vessels.
US warships and aircraft, working with allies, have intercepted those threats. Last week, US forces engaged several Houthi drones and missiles.
"We continue to learn lessons. And again, I will go back to changing tactics, techniques and procedures based on the opponent," Franchetti said when answering questions at an event on October 2.
"The Houthis are using Iran's best technology and we know we need to be able to defeat that technology. And again, our ships and our planes are doing a fantastic job," Franchetti stressed.
A previously released report by the US Department of Defense 's Defense Intelligence Agency detailed the extent of Iran's support for the Houthis, saying that over the past decade, Tehran has provided the Houthis with an "increasingly sophisticated arsenal" and training in its use. This support has continued into the Red Sea conflict .
During the conflict, the US Navy has fired more than $1.1 billion worth of ammunition against the Houthis, including hundreds of air-launched weapons and ship-borne missiles that have been used to destroy Houthi missiles and UAVs.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
