Posted on 03/16/2025 6:01:12 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Despite having been handed a few big steaming kettles of FO by the Trump administration and the U.S. military in recent days, Yemen's Houthi rebels still seem to think they are in the FA stage. In the latest laughable claim, a Houthi spokesman, one Yahya Sarea, bragged about a Houthi attack on an American ship - not just any ship, mind you, but the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
US warships shot down around a dozen drones fired by Yemen's Houthi terrorists 'well before' they could pose a threat, a senior defence official revealed just hours after the rebels claimed to have mounted an attack.
American F-16 and F-18 fighter aircraft have shot down 11 drones fired by the terror group since President Donald Trump approved an order for air strikes over Yemen on Saturday night, Fox News reported.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the drones did not come close to the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, which has played a key role in the latest military action.
Tracking also showed at least one Houthi missile failed in flight and splashed down in the waters off Yemen.
The US military took no action because it was not deemed a threat, the official said.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea delivered a message on March 16, 2025 saying they've launched an offensive against the USS Harry S. Truman using 'missiles and drones.'🤬 pic.twitter.com/ffzmEUcYjN— Sumner (@renmusb1) March 16, 2025
It was not deemed a threat, that is, by anyone besides the Houthis. Their spokesman tried to spin it:
The Iran-backed terror group said, without offering evidence, that they attacked the Truman and its warships with ballistic missiles and drones in response to US attacks.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Sunday: 'The armed forces, with the help of God Almighty, carried out a qualitative military operation targeting the American aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships in the northern Red Sea, using 18 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones in a joint operation carried out by the missile force, Drone Air Force and the naval forces.'
The US Navy's reply was, essentially, "I'm sorry, who did you say you were again?"
The really entertaining thing about this is that the Navy scarcely even noticed the attack. One missile failed in flight; the drones didn't come anywhere near the carrier. Air Force and Navy fighters have been engaging these drones in what appears to be a 21st-century re-enactment of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, with the main difference being that in 1944, the Japanese Imperial Navy had ships and actual aircraft.
The Houthis seem to have two goals in this operation: To set an entirely new definition of the term "asymmetrical warfare" and to exceed Saddam Hussein's Iraq for impotent threats and other gaseous emissions from the group's leaders.
See Related:Â Delusional: Houthis Threaten US With Images of Flag-Draped Coffins
'Peace Through Strength Is Back'—SecDef Hegseth Vows 'Unrelenting' Campaign Against Houthis
The Houthis probably do consider this a considerable attack, at least by their standards. The United States Navy barely noticed. It's a safe bet that, on the USS Harry S. Truman, the sailors in line at the ice cream machine didn't even flinch.
The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, where all this is taking place, is a vital international shipping route; it carries about 12 percent of the world's shipping every year. That makes it important to global trade, and the Trump administration is concerned about global trade - and the U.S. Navy has, since World War 2, enforced a Pax Americana on the world's primary shipping lanes. And for all their blustering, the Houthi are learning some important lessons about having their mouths write checks that their butts can't cash.
It would be like taking on a grizzly bear with a slingshot.
RE: It would be like taking on a grizzly bear with a slingshot.
Didn’t it work when David used it?
A friend’s husband is in the Army, stationed in the Middle East. She requested prayer in church today, saying they were under attack from Yemen.
Here’s an idea… why don’t we destroy the source of the enemy’s munitions and aircraft, communications, power…? Instead we float targets in front of them for them to destroy.
Don’t get cocky. Even Hooties can get lucky.
One thing about Carriers and Airdales, they CAN shoot Skeet off the decks of most all the Carrier Strike Group, ... except the Boat, ... darn.
“Impotence: Houthis Claim Attack Launched on US Aircraft Carrier - Navy Barely Noticed”
no doubt ... but i bet the Houthis will DEFINITELY notice the counter attacks!
We attacked the Houthis yesterday and killed at least 19. So I would say that yes, we noticed their little attack.
Just a flesh wound
-American F-16 and F-18 fighter aircraft have shot down 11 drones-
I wonder where the F-16s came from?
The weapons the Houthis are using in some cases have quite long ranges. So, the question becomes from where and how do we launch attacks. We “can” launch strategic assets, such as B-2’s, and so on, even from the US, but to put down, essentially, guerillas, or a 2nd or 3rd tier opponent who has sizable numbers, those are very inefficient tools. Which is another way of saying we have carrier strike groups as attack platforms for good reasons.
Granted that the original Biden plan to use a couple Aegis destroyers to protect commercial shipping was never going to work. We did a good job of protecting ships near our ships, but we burned up a lot of pricey AD missiles, and as you say, gave the Houthis more targets. To cover the area needed would have required many more AD ships. A carrier has the advantage of better surveillance and it can send fighter jets against drones and cruise missiles, but it’s best capability is to “shoot the archer”, somewhat as you suggest, and that appears to be what Trump has set out to do.
As for what we are hitting, the source of the Houthis’ weapons is primarily Iran, with suspected sourcing from North Korea, Russia, and China. The Houthis have only 1 F-15 for fighter aircraft, IIRC, plus a few choppers, and then plenty of Iranian style drones. I assume that if the Houthis persist (likely, IMO), communication and power will soon be up. (Communications may already be hit - it would make sense.)
Nonetheless, it should be noted the Saudis used a LOT of US “kit” on the Houthis, and ultimately failed. We may have a lot of work to do... :-(
Off the USS Truman, I believe.
F-16s don’t operate off carriers so closest bases would be Djibouti, Oman, and UAE. Someone on FR probably knows.
F-16s are USAF. No USAF F-16s aboard USN Aircraft Carriers! Only F-18s.
HST, I have no idea where the F-16s came FRom.
Saudi or Q8 possibly..
Sweepers held.
Thanks!
f-16’s were never used on carriers. They are to delicate.
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