“USS Hudner, U.S. Navy destroyer, shoots down attack drones from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen over the Red Sea: CENTCOM”
The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Hudner shot down several attack drones over the Red Sea that were launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen early Thursday morning local time, according to U.S. Central Command.
“The ship and crew sustained no damage or injury,” reported a statement from the command.
One week earlier, Navy officials announced the same ship had shot down another drone originating in Yemen that was heading in the direction of the ship.
Although the Pentagon later assessed that the American ship itself was not the target, the drone’s proximity raised concerns, according to Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh. U.S. officials suggested that the attack drone was likely headed for Israel.
Singh implied that Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen were responsible for the attempted attack, but did not confirm.
“We’re still doing an assessment of the attribution, but I would have no reason to doubt that it would have come from the Houthis,” she said last Thursday.
The U.S. military has not yet revealed who they believe launched the most recent one-way attack drone barrage shot down over the Red Sea.
However, the U.S. did blame the Houthis for an act of aggression against an American drone earlier this month, stating that the militants shot down the unmanned aircraft in international airspace off the coast of Yemen on Nov. 8.
