How an Iranian-Backed Militia Ties Down U.S. Naval Forces in the Red Sea

ABOARD THE USS LABOON—It was just after 9 p.m. when radar operators aboard this U.S. Navy destroyer in the Red Sea spotted a tiny arrow on their screens: a missile hurtling toward them at five times the speed of sound.

The crew of the warship with 300 sailors aboard had just seconds to shoot it down. As the projectile closed in, the Laboon launched an interceptor from silos beneath its deck, destroying the incoming missile in flight.

The Jan. 9 attack was one of the largest maritime battles the U.S. has faced since World War II. Houthi rebels in Yemen that day launched 18 drones and cruise missiles along with the ballistic missile at the Laboon and three other American destroyers, a U.S. aircraft carrier and a British warship in an attack that unfolded over a dozen hours.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have lobbed missiles, drones and other weapons at commercial vessels and warships nearly every day. Although most of the weapons have been shot down, at least 77 cargo ships have been hit, and one British-owned ship carrying 20,000 tons of fertilizer aboard was sunk.

Though largely ineffective, the Houthi attacks have been able to disrupt shipping and keep the U.S. and its allies tied down, frustrating the Navy’s decades-old mission of keeping open the region’s critical sea lanes.

The attacks are the direct result of fateful geography. To travel through the Red Sea and reach the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most heavily traveled shipping routes, cargo ships must pass through the Bab al-Mandab strait skirting the coast of Yemen, within range of the Houthis’ arsenal of missiles and drones.

No warships are known to have been hit in the more than 80 attempted attacks, but there have been some close calls, underscoring the perils for the U.S. and allies that have sent ships to the area the longer the conflict continues.

The Biden administration has limited its military response to the Houthi attacks, hoping to avoid being drawn into a wider Middle East conflict. But that has meant the flotilla of U.S. and allied warships has spent weeks and even months patrolling the Red Sea on alert—and the attacks have kept coming.

“We haven’t taken a hit, but strategically, we haven’t restored the flow of goods,” said Gene Moran, a retired Navy captain who commanded the Laboon more than 20 years ago.

More than 20,000 commercial ships pass through the Red Sea in a typical year, including 150 huge tankers and containerships, but the ship traffic through the strait has dropped steeply since the attacks began.

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