The US Navy's Eisenhower carrier strike group racked up over 100 drone and missile kills battling the Houthis

• The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group spent months battling nan Houthis successful nan Red Sea.
• The skipper of nan lead vessel said nan onslaught group destroyed complete 100 Houthi threats during nan deployment.
• These threats included missiles, drones, and mini boats.

A US Navy bearer onslaught group that battled Houthi threats successful nan Red Sea for months destroyed complete 100 missiles and drones during its deployment.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was connected nan beforehand lines passim overmuch of nan US military's ongoing run against nan Houthis. It spent 7 months engaged successful constant combat operations against nan Iran-backed rebels successful consequence to their attacks connected merchant shipping lanes.

Capt. Chris Hill, nan commanding serviceman of nan craft bearer USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, nan onslaught group's flagship, said "there were very fewer days" during nan first half of nan twelvemonth wherever "something did not happen" successful nan conflict.

Incidents included Houthi rocket and drone attacks connected subject and civilian vessels and Navy airstrikes targeting nan rebels and their weapons successful Yemen, Hill shared pinch nan Military Reporters & Editors Conference successful Washington connected Friday.

The Eisenhower onslaught group, consisting of nan bearer Ike and respective different warships, "racked up a batch of instrumentality kills" during nan deployment, Hill said. "I'm talking astir shooting down good much than a 100 drones, a mates twelve ballistic missiles, immoderate cruise missiles, and a mates twelve mini boats."

"We besides destroyed hundreds of onshore targets to see surface-to-air rocket systems, weapons caches, missiles and drones connected nan ground, and truthful on," Hill added.

The Eisenhower onslaught group fired astir 800 munitions during its deployment, which began past autumn and wrapped up successful July. These included surface-to-air interceptor missiles, land-attack missiles, air-to-air missiles, and air-to-surface weapons fired by warships and aircraft.

These combat operations person travel astatine a precocious cost, though. The Navy said it fired over $1 cardinal worthy of munitions betwixt early October 2023 and mid-July 2024. Several months later, US forces are still intercepting Houthi threats and striking nan rebels successful Yemen.

The precocious financial toll of nan first fewer months of nan Navy's counter-Houthi campaign and nan truth that it shows nary clear signs of ending person raised concerns astir sustainment and rocket expenditure.

Hill said nan onslaught group was alert of nan concerns astir conserving weapons and utilizing costly missiles — immoderate worthy respective cardinal dollars — against inexpensive Houthi drones that whitethorn costs conscionable a fewer thousand.

He said nan onslaught group quickly transitioned to cheaper ways to destruct nan Houthi drones, for illustration taking them connected nan crushed successful Yemen utilizing inexpensive Joint Direct Attack Munitions, aliases JDAMs. These are dumb bombs fitted pinch guidance kits that move them into precision weapons. Navy F/A-18s besides knocked retired threats pinch their air-to-air missiles.

Navy officials person praised nan onslaught group heavy for its actions during nan counter-Houthi campaign.

"When called upon, nan unit brought nan conflict to nan Houthis successful their beforehand yard, linking airpower and move and self-defense strikes," Vice Adm. George Wikoff, nan US 5th Fleet commander, said upon nan onslaught group's return from its deployment successful July.

"These acts reduced nan consequence to shipping and besides reinforced our nation's committedness to maritime security," Wikoff said, calling it "the Navy's finest moments since World War II."