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Admiral reports on drone attack in November

The USS 'Stockdale (DDG-106)' used the destroyer’s five-inch gun to shoot down a Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicle, the deputy commander of Central Command said on Jan 30, 2025. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper was aboard the 'Stockdale' in November during a Houthi attack on the ship. When he embarked on the ship , Houthi missiles and drones were a regular sight in the Middle East. The 'Stockdale', along with the USS 'Spruance (DDG-111)' and the Littoral Combat Ship USS 'Indianapolis (LCS-17)', were transiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, sailing from the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden, when a low-flying Houthi drone came at the ship, and the watch stander clocked it, but it was a late detection. A kill order was given, and the sailors prepared to take it out with the five-inch guns. Cooper did not think they would hit, but the guns fired and the drone went down. The first missile was heading off-course, so the sailors let it go. But the remaining three were problems. Debris from the missile collision caused a Sea Sparrow launch. More American missiles were launched to take care of further Houthi missiles. About 11 minutes later, a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile was detected. Aircraft from 'Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)', the aircraft carrier leading the carrier strike group, shot down the missile. An hour and a half later, F-16s under Spruance’s control, handled a land-attack missile. F-16s also shot down drones that were part of a suicide drone attack. The two destroyers USS 'Frank E. Petersen (DDG-121)' and USS 'Michael Murphy (DDG-112)', protected Abe while its aircraft launched an attack on Houthi infrastructure. Based on USNI News’ timeline of Houthi activity in the Red Sea, it likely happened around Nov. 12 to 13.The Houthis launched more than 140 attacks on merchant vessels and 170 on Navy ships over the 15 months of their campaign in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Navy downed 480 Houthi UAVs in that time. The Houthis have ceased action in the Red Sea due to the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, although Houthi leadership said it was monitoring the deal and would resume escalatory action if Israel violated it.

Two destroyers attacked by Houthi terrorists

Two Navy destroyers came under attack by missiles and drones launched by Houthi rebels while they were sailing through a strait located between Yemen and Djibouti on Nov 11, 2024, according to the Pentagon. During the transit, the USS 'Stockdale' and USS 'Spruance' were attacked by at least eight one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship cruise missiles.The two destroyers used missiles to thwart the incoming attack, and the Navy's contribution to the retaliatory strike included F-35C Lightning II fighter aircraft.. The Navy and Air Force responded overnight with "a series of precise airstrikes, which targeted multiple Houthi weapon storage facilities that housed a variety of advanced conventional weapons to target U.S. and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters in the Red Sea.