Last December, the United States of America formed a coalition of more than twenty countries called “Guardian of prosperityUnder the pretext of responding to the Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the coalition issued a warning to stop operations, but the Houthis did not stop targeting ships belonging to the Israeli occupation state heading to it. Rather, they recently intensified their attacks, so that the American and British forces decided in the end to direct air and missile strikes on targets. Within Yemeni territory.
What is the nature of the American-British strike?
At dawn on Friday, January 12, American and British forces struck More than 60 targets in 16 Houthi sites, followed Smaller stroke Saturday morning. The US Department of Defense (1) says that the targets varied between ammunition depots, production facilities, missile and drone launching systems, air defense radar systems, and command and control centers, which usually manage combat operations and undertake coordination tasks between units.
The strikes were focused on areas close to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, such as Hodeidah, Taiz, and Sanaa, and were carried out by naval vehicles such as the USS Florida, the American Ohio-class submarine that carries 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, in addition to a number of ships. The unspecified US surface aircraft, with Typhoon jets, are multi-role fighters powered by two engines and flown by a single pilot, and are considered the primary aircraft of the British Air Force.
This is not the first time that the Houthis have been targeted by US forces. Last December, US Navy helicopters targeted the Yemeni group’s gunboats during an operation to stop the Maersk Hangzhou container ship.
What missiles targeted Houthi sites?
Neither the United States nor Britain announced all the types of missiles used in the strike, but we know that the US Navy mainly used Tomahawk land-attack missiles (TLAM), which are long-range cruise missiles, launched from surface ships and submarines, and carrying a warhead. An explosive weighing approximately 500 kilograms (2).
“Tomahawk” missiles are characterized by their high accuracy, they operate at relatively low altitudes, and they can maneuver along their path towards the target, thus they can bypass radar systems. This type of missile uses the global positioning system, which enables it to change its course after launch according to changes. Orders from leadership.
In addition, (3) “Paveway 4” missiles were launched from the British aircraft, which is an improved British version of the “Paveway 2” missiles produced by the American company “Lockheed Martin”, and relies primarily on the “Mk82” bomb weighing 227 kg for purposes. This newer version of the bomb is equipped with global positioning capabilities and an inertial navigation system, increasing its accuracy and enabling it to operate in all weather conditions.
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What does this mean strategically?
Generally, missions (4) like this use precision guided munitions (PGMs), which are weapons directed to hit a specific target with high accuracy and low collateral damage, and so they use different technologies, such as laser, radar, infrared, GPS, or inertial guidance. Self-adjusting its flight path and correcting its errors.
This means that the United States and Britain have – so far – intended to provide a limited strike to the Houthis, with a specific mission, which is to limit the Houthis’ capabilities to carry out their operations in Bab al-Mandab or expand them in the future, as well as to undermine their missile launching capabilities, while being careful to reduce the number of casualties. To minimize the chances of a Houthi response, this strike in no way indicates an intention to engage in a broader war.
US President Biden himself has stated more than once and clearly that the United States of America does not want to get involved or expand the conflict in the Middle East (this comes in the context that the man’s popularity is currently facing a problem after unconditional support for the bombing of the Israeli occupation of Gaza, which caused the death of dozens thousands of innocent people).
What response is expected from the Houthis?
After the strike, the Houthis announced that all American and British interests in the Red Sea had become “Legitimate goals“For them, and based on that, they may try to raise the rates of operations in the Red Sea and expand them to include non-Israeli ships. It is also expected that the pace of missile launches and Houthi marches against the Israeli occupation state in the north will increase during the coming period to prove that the American-British strike had only a slight effect.” .
This will not be the first time that the Houthis have responded directly and militarily to the US army. During November 2023, the Houthis announced that they were able to shoot down an American MQ-9 drone in the territorial waters of Yemen. This came because the US destroyer USS Carney shot down Houthi missiles and drones that were heading to Israel.
The Houthis own it Huge arsenal of weapons A strike like this cannot eliminate it. In particular, the Houthis’ capabilities within the missile range have recently developed. Consider, for example, the “Toofan” ballistic missiles with a range of 1,350-1,900 kilometers, which were recently used to strike targets in the south of the occupying state. All of this, of course. We did not talk about the Houthis’ arsenal of new drones, such as the various types of “Samad” drones that resemble the Iranian “Shahed” drones, with a range of 1,200-1,700 kilometers.
In addition, the Houthi naval forces have developed in an unprecedented way, as they now possess combat boats of different types, some of which have the ability to carry medium and light weapons and can fire 107 mm Katyusha rockets, and some can carry air defense systems. Especially to hit and control ships.
The Houthis also possess sea mines to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines, along with new versions of anti-ship guided missiles with a range of 200-400 kilometers, which are the most dangerous weapon the Houthis possess at this range.
The big picture: How does this affect the situation in the region?
At the very least, the Houthis will be keen to prove that the American-British strike failed to achieve its goals by intensifying their operations against the occupation, which means the possibility of repeating the American strikes. But long-range strikes are unlikely to be sufficient to achieve their goals, and repeating them risks prompting the Houthis to respond.
This leads to the possibility of the coalition forces developing their operations into an actual military presence on the ground to push the Houthis inland, away from the coastline, to reduce their ability to disrupt the movement of ships in the Red Sea, but this scenario remains unlikely so far due to its high cost, especially since all of this comes in The context of the ground military operation launched by the Israeli occupation state on the Gaza Strip, which is a battle that has become Several parties participate Including, for example, Hezbollah in the north and east, which is escalating its operations against the occupying state day after day, not to mention the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” which has targeted American bases in Syria and Iraq with more than 120 attacks so far.
These parties may consequently escalate their operations in response to the American-British operation against the Houthis, and all of the above would escalate the conflict in the region and may turn it into a regional war in which many parties and countries intervene. This is a possibility that greatly worries the Americans, especially with the increasing pressure to end the war. On Gaza, which leads us to say that the American strikes are primarily aimed at deterrence and proving Washington’s ability to intervene to protect navigation in the Red Sea, rather than being designed to achieve real military goals on the ground.
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Sources
- AFCENT Commander Statement on Strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen
- Tomahawk
- Paveway
- U.S. Precision-Guided Munitions
