The USV attack – which took place on 4 January – failed: the vessel detonated in the Red Sea at distance from any shipping. Nonetheless, it represented an evolution in the Houthi threat, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper – the Bahrain-based, triple-hatted commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, US Fifth Fleet, and the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) maritime security coalition – told a US Department of Defense press briefing on 4 January.
“I’d characterize the USV incident as the use of a new capability,”
Vice Adm Cooper
The USV, which the admiral described as a low-profile vessel, was deployed from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen and transited about 15 miles out into international shipping lanes. The USV detonated a couple of miles from any shipping, he added, and it was not clear which ship may have been the target.
Houthi rebels have used small crewed and uncrewed vessels for one-way attacks in recent years (for example, in the Gulf of Aden). However, this was the first time such capability has been used during the Houthis’ harassment of commercial shipping in the Red Sea region, said Vice Adm Cooper. “The introduction of a one-way attack USV is of concern,” he added.
Such new capability demonstrates that the Houthi threat is ongoing. “We are certainly mindful of the continued threat, and expect that the Houthi attacks may continue,” said Vice Adm Cooper. He added that 25 attacks had taken place against merchant vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden and southern Red Sea between 18 November, when the attacks started, and 4 January.
US Navy (USN) ships operating in the region have shot down 61 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, and anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), said Vice Adm Cooper. This defensive response reflects the international community’s collective response, established formally under Operation ‘Prosperity Guardian’ (OPG) on 18 December. Since OPG commenced, contributing ships have shot down 11 UAVs, two cruise missiles, and six ASBMs, alongside sinking three small boats. “I think it [is] really importantly [that] our actions in this defensive operation are not just through words but through deeds,” said the admiral.
“It’s a very active defensive role,” he added.
Vice Adm Cooper reported that five ships are now providing persistent OPG patrol presence in the southern Red Sea.
“Operationally, right now the US, UK, and France are providing the preponderance of these ships.”
Vice Adm Cooper
Hellenic Navy and Royal Danish Navy ships will add more numbers in the coming weeks, he said. Moreover, crewed and uncrewed maritime reconnaissance aircraft are present, alongside aircraft from the USN’s USS Dwight D Eisenhower carrier strike group.
“We now have the largest surface and air presence in the southern Red Sea in years,”
Vice Adm Cooper
OPG has been stood up as a more focused defensive operation to deter threats to shipping in the region: since its inception, around 1,500 merchant ships have transited safely through.
OPG was established under the USN-led, 39-member CMF, and is commanded by CMF’s USN-led, Red Sea-focused Combined Task Force (CTF) 153. “The CMF partners we work with already have conducted many multinational exercises under CTF 153, but today’s environment requires a new, dedicated operation,” said Vice Adm Cooper. “The structure and the organization existed, but before the Houthis began indiscriminately firing and recklessly attacking merchant vessels there [was] no need for sustained presence.” The change in threat, he summarised, changed the equation, bringing the need for persistent presence.
Vice Adm Cooper reiterated OPG’s defensive, deterrence-focused imperative. “International forces are patrolling the southern Red Sea and the western Gulf of Aden in greater numbers and with persistent presence to essentially do two things: deter illegal activity, and thus increase overall deterrent posture; and provide assurance to the maritime industry.”
Zone defence in the Red Sea
Discussing the at-sea approach, Vice Adm Cooper said:
“The operational concept here … is we’re playing zone defence, as opposed to one-on-one.”
“We have ships in specific areas spread out over the length of the southern Red Sea …. [They’re] very actively patrolling, able to patrol alongside and defend a large group of merchant ships transiting,” he explained. “On occasion, we’ll shift … to escorting or being close to a group of ships for extra-close overwatch.”
While OPG’s contributors continue to grow – with 22 countries now participating, and with these partners contributing ships, aircraft, staff, or other support – the operation’s mandate remains defensive and deterrence-based. While 14 countries – the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and the United Kingdon – issued a joint statement on 3 January warning the Houthis of potential retaliatory consequences for continuing attacks, Vice Adm Cooper reiterated that OPG will remain defensive. “With respect to the announcement, that’s independent of OPG,” he said.
“OPG is defensive in nature. Anything that happens outside of the defensive aspect of this operation is a completely different operation.”
Vice Adm Cooper
