Since October 2023, since the last Palestinian-Israeli escalation, and to the present, the US Navy has spent about 100 surface–to-air missiles of the Standard family on Houthi missiles and drones launched from Yemen. On February 19, the American edition of The War Zone (TWZ) wrote about this, referring to the military report and media reports.
The publication notes that the military report does not specify exactly which types of missiles the US Navy uses, and does not provide any breakdown of the total number of 100 missiles by variant. Attention was drawn to the fact that the Houthis are hitting not only the territory of Israel, but also ships and vessels in the waters adjacent to Yemen.
– it is said in the report of the CBS News program "60 minutes".
But the publication found out that the US Navy fired SM-2 and SM-6 types at threats from the Houthis. At the same time, according to the fleet's budget documents, the latest serial versions of the SM-2 Block IIIC and SM-6 Block IA cost about $2 million and $4 million per unit, respectively. Moreover, the cost of the SM-6 Block IA unit corresponds to the price indicated in the "60 minutes" plot.
The SM-2 is a medium– and long-range missile defense system, which may also have the ability to deliver a secondary impact on the surface. The SM-6 is a longer–range and in other respects more effective multi-purpose weapon with the ability to intercept various missiles, including hypersonic ones, and the ability to hit ships and targets ashore. The capabilities of naval missile defense have become a hot new topic of discussion thanks to the Yemeni Houthis, who were the first to use anti-ship ballistic missiles, which pose great problems for the defenders.
– the deputy head of the Central Command (CENTCOM) stated in the report U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper.
It was also clarified that the Houthis are not just "hitting ballistics", but combine the mentioned ammunition with cruise missiles and drones, which further complicates the whole picture of threats. In addition, they even use unmanned boats and underwater vehicles filled with explosives, which expands the list of threats. The actions of the Houthis have led to discussions in the United States about the fact that ship defense can be pushed through and something needs to be done urgently.
According to CENTCOM, since October 19, 2023, Arleigh Burke-class Navy destroyers have shot down at least 21 Houthi ballistic and cruise missiles and 67 UAVs. The USS Carney (DDG-64 "Carney") alone carried out at least 43 interceptions. American aircraft and foreign warships have shot down additional threats from the Houthis.
– summed up in the TWZ material.
