US Navy frontline fight against Houthis in Red Sea

USS Dwight D. Aboard Eisenhower (CNN)— The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D in the Red Sea at 4 a.m. Tuesday. An alarm went off on the Eisenhower, alerting crews to prepare for possible flight operations against Houthi drones hovering over nearby ships.

In the end it was deemed that these drones were not a threat. But the incident shows the carrier’s crew is on constant high alert for potential threats from Iran-backed Yemeni fighters, who regularly attack commercial ships and US and coalition forces along the vital waterway with missiles and drones.

In the southern Red Sea, aboard the Eisenhower and the US destroyer USS Gravely, two ships leading the US response to Houthi attacks, CNN gained unique access and spoke to sailors and pilots who said the Houthi threat is unpredictable and unprecedented.

The US Navy is working at a frantic pace, deploying jets and firing missiles on a dime to try to destroy Houthi weapons and infrastructure.

But after dozens of strikes over the past month against Houthi targets both in the Red Sea and inside Yemen, CNN was told the US military still doesn’t know exactly how many Houthi capabilities have been destroyed, or for how long. It is necessary to stop them firmly.

Carrier Strike Group Two Commander Rear Adm. “It’s a complex set of issues that we’re not very confident about,” Mark Miguez told CNN on Tuesday.

Unlike state actors such as Iran, Russia and China, whom the US has prioritized intelligence gathering over the years, the US did not pay much attention to the Red Sea before regularly launching missiles at the Houthis, Miguz said. So the United States doesn’t know for sure how much the Houthis have stockpiled, especially in terms of what they’ve buried underground.

Real-time learning

The Houthi attacks also mark the first time anti-ship ballistic missiles have been used in combat, and crews aboard warships are learning how to react in real time.

“We’re not exactly where we expected to be on this deployment,” said the deputy commander of Carrier Air Wing 3, the deputy commander of Carrier Air Wing 3, which regularly flies missions over the Red Sea and Yemen.

“Anytime you do something for the first time in a region, it’s not without risk,” Huddleston said. “But we managed that risk to our strike group and our aircrew through combat power management.”

Dozens of fighter jets take off from the aircraft carrier Ike daily to take to the skies over the Red Sea if they are tasked with attacking Houthi targets.

An F/A-18 with afterburners in the Red Sea aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Prepares to take off from the deck of the Eisenhower. Credit: Scott Pisczek/CNN

All the jets carry air-to-ground missiles so they can immediately respond to a threat, Miguez said.

“Unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of information about most of these things, especially ballistic missiles,” he said. The Houthis have also changed their tactics in recent weeks, using drones more regularly to target and attack ships.

“They’ve tried to target coalition forces, US forces, using multiple autonomous drones, using multiple anti-ship ballistic cruise missiles,” said Capt. Marvin Scott, commanding officer of Carrier Air Wing 3. We’re trying everything they can, but we’re ready for whatever they throw at us.”

In many cases, the Houthis are using Samad-3 drones, Miguez said, which are long-range and carry explosive payloads. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Houthis are also using Iranian-made drones.

“We know for a fact that they are a threat, so we are taking them down more and more frequently,” he said.

CNN previously reported that the US intelligence community has received indications that the Iranians are becoming nervous about Houthi attacks because they have hit only a few of Iran’s allies, including China and India.

Authorities believe that at one point, Iran was using one of its suspected spy ships, the Behshad, which has long been based in the southern Red Sea, to help attack the Houthis in the area. But in a significant shift, Iran earlier this month moved the ship off the coast of Djibouti for the first time in more than two years, Migouz said. This has reduced the Houthis’ ability to track ships in the Gulf of Aden.

Seconds or minutes to respond

Meanwhile, the crew aboard the destroyer USS Gravely in the Red Sea is at the tip of the spear against Houthi missiles and drones. Sailors often have seconds to respond to an incoming missile.

“We may have seconds or minutes,” said Lt. JG James Rodney, who works at Gravely’s Combat Information Center. “I wouldn’t say more than a few minutes.”

The Gravely is armed with long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of hitting targets inside Yemen. But more often, the ship is deploying its anti-aircraft and anti-surface missiles at close range as Houthi missiles and drones approach. Last month, however, a Houthi missile came so close to the Gravely — less than 1.6 km — that the ship had to use its last line of defense, known as a phalanx, to shoot it down. According to Miguez, the incident is being investigated.

Houthi bombing has been so relentless that the aircraft carrier Ike and nearby destroyers have not called at any port in months, which is highly unusual. Sailors said the environment is stressful, but keeping the mission has helped them.

“It’s definitely not what we expected being out here,” said FC1 Michael Zito, who assists with Gravely’s .54-caliber Mark 45 cannon and other onboard weapon systems. “We were hoping for a more relaxed and calm deployment. But this is what we’ve been training for years consistently, day in and day out, and we’re ready for whatever comes. We’ll do what we have to do.”

— CNN’s Scott Piszczak contributed to this report.