On January 4th, with little warning from a group of twelve countries led by the US, the Houthi rebels [liés à l’Iran] have returned to an approach they favored against the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen between 2015 and 2022 to support President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi. In fact, they attempted a new attack [la vingt-cinquième depuis la mi-novembre] against ships sailing in the Red Sea with a surface drone loaded with explosives.
“A Houthi ground drone exploded in an international maritime corridor. “Fortunately, there were no casualties and no ships were hit,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, chief of American naval forces in the Middle East. However, he stressed that the first use of such a device was “concerning”.
This surface drone [ou USV] traveled about 50 nautical miles on busy shipping lanes before it exploded for an as yet unknown cause.
“These Houthi attacks are undoubtedly destabilizing and violate international law, and as many have said, they clearly must stop immediately,” Admiral Cooper commented. However, he has no illusions about it. “There is no sign that they will stop their irresponsible behavior,” he said.
So far, the Houthis have mainly used anti-ship missiles and remote-controlled ammunition [MTO, drone aérien kamikaze] to target merchant ships they believed were linked to Israeli interests. The use of USVs therefore poses a new problem for the “Guardian of Prosperity” coalition, which the US announced on December 18 that it would be formed to ensure maritime safety in the Red Sea.
In January 2017, three USVs loaded with explosives were remotely directed by the Houthis at a Saudi al-Madinah-class frigate while it was sailing off the port of Hodeida. Two sailors died there.
“We can be attacked by maritime surface drones. This occurs fairly regularly north of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait in the southern Red Sea. This is the work of the Houthi rebellion, which regularly communicates on this issue and with impressive efficiency targets the boats of the countries it acts against in Yemen. This threat is therefore very real,” said Admiral Christophe Prazuck, then chief of staff of the French Navy, some time later.
Countering a USV is no easy task, especially when it is heading towards its target at full speed. A cargo ship or an oil tanker can do practically nothing about it… This means that they have to strengthen their protection with military ships capable of neutralizing such a threat, be it with their artillery. [tourelle de 76 mm pour les frégates françaises, complétée par des canons de 20 mm]or even with anti-ship missiles.
Photo: US Navy Marine Drone (for illustrative purposes) – Archive