CENTCOM: USS Carney Launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missile Against Houthi Radar Site – HEATHER MONGILIO JANUARY 12, 2024 11:09 PM
USS Carney (DDG-64) launched a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile against a Houthi radar site in Yemen at 3:45 a.m. local time Saturday, U.S. Central Command announced in a Friday night release.
The strike comes the day after the U.S. and United Kingdom launched a series of strikes across 28 locations in Yemen, with multiple targets hit, USNI News previously reported. The U.S. and U.K. strikes, supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, were in response to the Houthis’ attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. There have been 28 attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since Nov. 19, according to the Central Command release.
The 28th attack was a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis Friday following the Thursday strikes. While Central Command counts attacks since Nov. 19, the Houthis first began firing toward the Red Sea and Israel as early as Oct. 19, when Carney shot down a number of drones and missiles launched by the Houthis toward Israel.
While U.S. ships like Carney are currently part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, the strikes are separate from the defensive coalition.
Carrier Air Wing 3 from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), USS Gravely (DDG-107), USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) were involved in the Thursday strikes, USNI News previously reported. An Ohio-class submarine, likely USS Florida (SSGN-728), was also involved.
At least 80 Tomahawks were fired as part of the strikes, according to Military.com.
Outside of the ballistic missile, which did not hit any ships in the Red Sea, the Houthis have not retaliated, but the Department of Defense does expect a response, Director of the Joint Forces Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims told reporters Friday.
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Houthis Fire Anti-Ship Missile at USS Laboon – HEATHER MONGILIO JANUARY 14, 2024 11:17 PM
U.S. fighter aircraft shot down an anti-ship cruise missile the Houthis fired toward USS Laboon (DDG-58), U.S. Central Command announced Sunday night.
Central Command’s release did not specify the aircraft that shot down the missile or the military branch. The fighter aircraft shot down the missile off the coast of Al-Hudaydah, according to the release.
There were no reports of damage or injury following the strike.
The attack on Laboon comes after two days of strikes by the U.S. and the United Kingdom on Houthi targets in Yemen. During the strikes, which involved a number of warships and aircraft, the U.S. and U.K. hit sites that included radar systems, production facilities and munition depots, USNI News previously reported.
The Houthis promised retaliation for the strikes. Yemeni Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf Abdullah gave the United Nations a letter of protest against the U.S. and U.K. strikes.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam took to social media site X to call the strikes a “blatant violation of national sovereignty.”
“On top of the 100 days of Israeli aggression against Gaza, we affirm that the hostile measures by America against Yemen will not prevent the armed forces from continuing to implement their religious, humanitarian and moral commitment in support of the Palestinian people and their valiant resistance by continuing to target ships belonging to the enemy entity and heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the aggression stops and the siege on Gaza,” Abdulsalam said on X.
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UK to deploy 20,000 service personnel to huge Nato military exercise 15th January 2024 at 11:30am
Twenty thousand British soldiers, sailors and aviators will be deployed by land, sea and air across Europe to participate in a huge Nato exercise later this year.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has announced the deployment of Navy, Army and RAF members to the 31-nation drill across Europe during a speech in London today.
Exercise Steadfast Defender will provide “vital reassurance against the Putin menace” as Mr Shapps warns the West stands at a “crossroads”.
The war games come after ministers announced the RAF airstrikes, with the US, on the Houthis in Yemen, and a further £2.5bn support package to Ukraine.
Mr Shapps has set out his vision for how the UK will deter threats, as allies remain concerned about the threat posed by Mr Putin as his war approaches its second year.
‘We stand at a crossroads’
In the Lancaster House speech, Mr Shapps said: “We are in a new era and we must be prepared to deter our enemies, prepared to lead our allies and prepared to defend our nation, whenever the call comes.
“Today our adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers, old enemies are reanimated, battle lines are being redrawn, the tanks are literally on Ukraine’s lawn and the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core.
“We stand at a crossroads.”
Mr Shapp added that his commitment to getting Armed Forces personnel the resources they need to do their job is “iron cast”.
“Our great resource has always been the men and women who work tirelessly to protect our nation, but to defend our nation from the increasing dangers of tomorrow they must have what they need to do the job.”
He added: “That’s why this Conservative government has already taken vital steps to increase defence spending”.
The deployment will see the UK use the RAF’s most up-to-date fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, the Royal Navy’s most advanced warships and submarines, and a full range of the Army’s capabilities – from logistics to armour to special operations forces.
Some 16,000 troops with tanks, artillery and helicopters will be deployed from the British Army across Eastern Europe starting next month as part of the exercise.
The Royal Navy will deploy more than 2,000 sailors across eight warships and submarines, while more than 400 Royal Marines Commandos will be sent to the Arctic Circle.
The RAF will use F-35B Lightning attack aircraft and Poseidon P-8 surveillance aircraft.
Forces News has taken a look at what is known about the numbers and equipment being sent here.
Defence sources said that the exercise will prepare for the invasion of a member state by any aggressor, with the main threats being considered to be Russia and terrorism.
Labour backed the commitment of UK forces to Nato, but said Mr Shapps’s speech was “little more than PR spin”.
“Grant Shapps is reheating old announcements from other people,” a party spokesman said.
“The PM confirmed 20,000 UK troops will exercise in Europe three months ago, while Nato released details of Steadfast Defender four months ago.”
Ukrainian training
Mr Shapps confirmed in his speech that the UK has now trained more than 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
The Defence Secretary also warned the international community that they cannot let its support “slip” now as Vladimir Putin believes “the West lacks staying power”.
“Since the future world order is at stake, we must prove him wrong,” Mr Shapps said.
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What is Russia’s A-50 AWACS plane that Ukraine claims to have shot down? 15th January 2024 at 1:30pm
Ukraine has said it shot down one of Russia’s most valuable military planes and seriously damaged another, dealing a major blow to Moscow’s airborne command and control capabilities.
Army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app that “Ukraine’s air force destroyed an enemy A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and an enemy Il-22 air control centre”.
He added: “I am grateful to the air force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in the Azov Sea region!”
The Beriev A-50 was supposedly shot down over the Sea of Azov, while the Ilyushin Il-22 was also hit, but was able to make a forced landing.
If true, the loss of the A-50 is a serious blow to Russia’s ability to detect Ukrainian threats and mount its own offensive airborne operations.
The Soviet-era A-50 airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) can detect missiles and enemy aircraft, and can also be used as an airborne command centre, coordinating targets for Russian jets, helicopters or drones.
The Il-22 has a similar role, but is older and less capable.
The Beriev A-50 four-engine, turbofan jet-propelled aircraft, which goes by the Nato reporting name of Mainstay, is Russia’s version of US Air Force’s Boeing E-3 Sentry.
The unit cost of the Russian aircraft is reportedly more than £235m.
It features a top-mounted radome that contains a high-range rotating radar which scans 360 degrees.
The modernised version of the aircraft, the A-50U, can reportedly monitor aerial targets out to a distance of 400 miles and ground targets out to around 180 miles, simultaneously tracking 300 ground targets or 40 airborne.
The A-50 has a 15-person crew, consisting of highly trained personnel and likely senior officers given its tactical importance.
The loss of trained personnel like these – assuming none survived – would be yet another blow to Russia..
Initially, there were around 40 A-50s when they first entered service in 1985, but according to the London-based IISS think tank, Russia had only nine left in operation by 2021, including four of the updated A-50U variants.
The other Russian command plane was reportedly hit and forced to return to base.
Images emerged showing the damaged tail section of the Ilyushin Il-22 Coot, which was able to make an emergency landing.
If Ukraine did manage to hit both the A-50 and the Il-22, Sunday would mark the single worst day for the Russian air force in the 23 months since Russia widened its war on Ukraine.
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In numbers: Who and what the UK is sending to Nato’s biggest military exercise since Cold War 15th January 2024 at 10:54am
The UK is expected to send 20,000 military personnel to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender 24 – one of Nato’s largest military exercises in Europe since the Cold War.
During the first half of 2024, personnel from the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force will deploy across Europe alongside 31 Nato allies and Sweden as the alliance practises repelling an invasion by Russian forces.
Here is what is known about numbers and equipment being sent.
Royal Navy
- Eight warships and submarines, and more than 2,000 sailors are to deploy
- A UK Carrier Strike Group, centred on a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier and her air group of F-35B Lightning jets and helicopters, and surrounded by escort frigates and destroyers, will operate as part of a naval force of allied warships and submarines in the North Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea and the Baltic Sea
- More than 400 Royal Marines Commandos will be deployed to the Arctic Circle at the heart of an allied amphibious task group designed to land in the High North and defend the alliance in one of the world’s harshest environments
British Army
- 16,000 troops from the British Army are to be deployed across Eastern Europe from February to June 2024, taking with them tanks, artillery, helicopters, and parachutes
- There will be live fire manoeuvres, parachute jumps, an Army and Navy joint helicopter force, and Army Special Operations Forces on deployment
RAF
- F-35B Lightning attack aircraft and Poseidon P8 surveillance aircraft are to be sent
- The RAF will practise flying in simulated conflict scenarios against near-peer adversaries
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