US military official: We cannot give up the Red Sea waterway to the Houthis, and preventing the flow of weapons is key to stopping the attacks

The commander of the US Fifth Fleet said that preventing the flow of missiles, drones, weapons and other parts from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen is key to maintaining the security of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea for commercial shipping.

“We cannot cede this waterway to the Iranian-backed Houthis in what was one of the busiest commercial sea lanes,” Admiral Daryl Caudle said, speaking at a recent U.S. Navy Association event.

Since the attacks began, hundreds of commercial ships, especially the largest container shipping companies, have decided to take the longer route around Africa to ensure delivery to and from Europe and Asia rather than risk being attacked on the shorter route to the Suez Canal.

French and British navies will also be operating in those waters soon, Caudel added.

The rules of engagement, he said, must reflect this ever-changing challenge from the Houthis, so that the Navy doesn’t just respond to attacks, but acts “on our own time and rhythm” to prevent them. “We have to work through that,” he said.

The US military official revealed that the Houthis have attacked about 80 commercial ships in the Bab al-Mandif Strait since October 2023.

“We know that attacks are happening in real time, so we can adjust our systems (cyber, radar) and in the past that kind of process would take months to complete, but now assessments are done in days on how the Navy defends its ships and operations in contested environments,” Caudle said.

He explained that what happened in the Red Sea is "an incredible story, and it is nothing less than a demonstration of what a well-trained global navy can do."

Asked about the possibility, Caudle said the Navy was considering less expensive options such as Coyote or Hellfire missiles, rather than launching the multimillion-dollar SM-3 or SM-6 missiles that are essential in advanced combat, to destroy incoming Houthi weapons.

The Navy recognized from the time the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group deployed until it returned to Norfolk in July that these crews and airmen had been “in a combat zone” for seven months, Caudle said. That meant being prepared to “care for” those deployed and their families who understood the stress they were under, he added.