미해군 구축함, 예멘에서 발사된 3발의 미사일과 다수의 드론 격추

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DDG-84 USS 카니 함이 지난 목요일 예멘 서부 해안에서 발사된 미사일 3발과 드론 8기를 SM-2로 요격했다고 합니다. 

미사일의 표적은 불분명하지만, 미사일은 북쪽으로 비행하고 있었으며 이스라엘의 목표물을 향하고 있었던 것으로 보인다고 합니다. 요격한 미사일의 종류는 불분명하나 예멘 서해안에서 이스라엘은 1천 마일 이상 떨어져 있어 대부분의 순항미사일 사거리 바깥으로, 후티 반군은 이란이 공급한 쿠드스-2 순항미사일을 퍼레이드에서 공개한 적이 있습니다. 

https://news.usni.org/2023/10/19/u-s-destroyer-used-sm-2s-to-down-3-land-attack-missiles-launched-from-yemen-says-pentagon

U.S. Destroyer Used SM-2s to Down 3 Land Attack Missiles Launched from Yemen, Says Pentagon

By: Sam LaGrone and Heather Mongilio

October 19, 2023 5:12 PM • Updated: October 19, 2023 11:18 PM

USS Carney (DDG-64) transits the Suez Canal, Oct. 18, 2023. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated with additional information on Houthi land attack cruise missiles

A U.S. guided-missile destroyer took out three land attack missiles fired from the shore of Western Yemen on Thursday, U.S. officials confirmed.

USS Carney (DDG-64) “shot down” the three missiles and a number of drones from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, according to Pentagon officials.

“This action was a demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture that we have built in the Middle East and that we are prepared to utilize whenever necessary to protect our partners and our interests in this important region. There were no casualties to U.S. forces and none that we know of to any civilians on the ground,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Thursday.

An early incident assessment reviewed by USNI News said Carney fired Standard Missile-2s to down the land attack missiles over the Red Sea and eight drones launched from Western Yemen. At no time was the ship threatened, according to the assessment.

It’s unclear what the missiles were targeting, but Ryder told reporters the missiles were headed north, “potentially toward targets in Israel.”

However, Ryder did not give specifics as to the type of missile launched. The west coast of Yemen is more than 1,000 miles from the southernmost tip of Israel – the outer range limit of most land attack cruise missiles.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have previously indicated an interest in fighting against Israel, Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told USNI News. They have raised that again following the most recent attacks and the 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Houthi forces on parade with a Quds-2 land attack cruise missile

The Houthis do have evolving long-range strike capabilities, such as the Quds series of land attack cruise missiles supplied by Iran, Ben Taleblu said.

“Some of these systems can reach southern Israel, like Eilat for example, when fired from Houthi-controlled territory in northern Yemen,” he said.

The missile intercept comes as the U.S. Navy is massing forces in the Eastern Mediterranean following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered the Ford and Eisenhower Carrier Strike Groups and the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, to the region.

CNN first reported the incident.

The militias, which have fought for almost a decade against the Saudi-backed government in Yemen, have been supplied by Iran with a variety of weapons, including anti-ship cruise missiles and land attack weapons, naval analyst Chris Carlson told USNI News on Thursday.

Carney is one of four guided-missile destroyers that are assigned to Naval Station Rota, Spain, as part of the Navy’s forward-deployed force in Europe. The quartet of ships are all capable of ballistic missile defense and regularly patrol the region.

The destroyer transited the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, from the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, U.S. 5th Fleet announced.

There were a series of attacks on U.S. warships in 2016 in the Red Sea. USS Mason (DDG-87) intercepted two missiles with a combination of Standard Missile 2s and single Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM) to counter two missiles fired at a collection of ships off the coast of Yemen in the first of several thwarted attacks against U.S. ships in the southern Red Sea.

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https://asiatimes.com/2023/10/houthis-iranian-missiles-aimed-for-us-ship-not-israel/

이스라엘이 아니라 미 구축함을 노린 공격이었지만, 이스라엘을 노린 공격으로 포장한 건 사태 확대를 막기 위한 미국의 제스처라는 분석도 있네요.