Yemen Monitor / Washington / Agencies:
A U.S. destroyer commander, whose ship exchanged attacks with the Houthis in the Red Sea, described the situation as a “knife fight in a phone booth,” following weeks of deployment until a truce announced by the U.S. President early last May.
“In many ways, the Red Sea is a knife fight in a phone booth,” Commander Cameron Ingram, commanding officer of the USS Thomas Hudner, told Business Insider aboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during a recent voyage in the English Channel.
The destroyer led by Ingram was previously confirmed to have been hit by a Houthi attack, without sustaining damage.
He added that “the geography is very constrained, and operating at that close range to Chinese-controlled territory would be very difficult.”
Ingram stated: “This would be a much longer-range fight. Their long-range surveillance and tracking are much more sophisticated. Their intelligence community is much more sophisticated. So, there are many more complexities and challenges, making a confrontation with China extremely difficult.”
The Business Insider newspaper said that the exhausting exchanges of fire between the U.S. Navy and the Iran-backed Houthis have given U.S. military planners a clearer insight into the complexities of high-speed air defense operations.
The U.S. newspaper added that the Red Sea conflict, now in its second month of a ceasefire, has put heavy pressure on the Navy, straining warship crews and depleting vital ammunition. While this battle posed a challenge, Navy commanders believe it is only a glimpse of what a future war against China would look like, as China possesses far more sophisticated missiles than those of the Yemeni rebels.
It’s not just about missiles; there are a host of factors that would make a confrontation with China much more challenging, but the Navy is learning important lessons from the Red Sea that it can apply in any future battle.
Since October 2023, the Houthis have launched hundreds of missiles and drones at international shipping and waterways off the coast of Yemen, specifically in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Navy warships and aircraft operating in the region have shot down many Houthi weapons, from drones to anti-ship missiles, in self-defense and to protect commercial vessels. The USS Thomas Hudner is one of the U.S. ships confirmed to have been hit, according to Business Insider.
These interceptions – which sometimes used multi-million dollar missiles to shoot down drones worth only thousands of dollars – have strained U.S. stockpiles and raised concerns about its readiness for potential future armed conflicts. In the case of China, described as an “accelerating threat” to America, naval air defense capabilities are a priority; any potential conflict between them would likely take place primarily at sea.
