The men and women of the Navy destroyer Carney continued to show and prove in the Red Sea Saturday when they shot down a barrage of 14 attack drones, according to U.S. Central Command, the latest incident involving American warships intercepting such barrages in recent months as the region teeters on the brink of a broader war spilling out of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In the early morning hours local time, Carney “successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems launched as a drone wave from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” the command said in a brief statement. “The [drones] were assessed to be one-way attack drones and were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries. Regional Red Sea partners were alerted to the threat.”
CENTCOM officials did not immediately clarify Saturday if Carney was believed to have been the target of the attack drones, but in other recent incidents involving Carney and fellow warship Mason, CENTCOM said it was unclear if the American ships were the targets of the drones, but that the destroyers shot the drones down in self-defense.
Carney spent a reported nine hours shooting down a drone and missile barrage fired by Houthi areas of Yemen toward Israel on Oct. 19.
Saturday’s action comes as commercial ships transiting the vital economic sea lane continue to come under attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in nearby Yemen.
On Friday afternoon, the Mason responded to a mayday call from the Liberian-flagged MV Palatium 3 which was struck by two Houthi ballistic missiles.
Two other commercial vessels in the Red Sea were also attacked Friday, according to CENTCOM, and no injuries were reported on any of those commercial ships.
“This latest round of attacks is yet another demonstration of the great risk to international shipping caused by these Houthi actions,” the U.S. command said.
Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of CENTCOM, visited Carney earlier this week and brought “over 1,000 pounds of barbecue” for the ship’s hard-working men and women, according to a command statement.
More than 20 Carney sailors also received awards for their recent actions, but the command has yet to provide further information on those awards.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
