후티반군 노르웨이 유조선 미사일 공격, 프랑스 호위함 드론 요격, 이스라엘 홍해에 Saar 6 코르벳 배치

[위종민]

후티 반군이 바브-엘-만데브 해협을 지나가던 노르웨이 선적 유조선 스트린다를 대함미사일로 공격했다고 합니다. 화재는 소화됐고, USS 메이슨이 유조선을 아덴 만까지 호위했다고 하네요. 

거의 동시에 프랑스의 FREMM 호위함 FS 랑그독(653)이 스트린다를 노리던 드론을 격추시켰습니다.  

https://news.usni.org/2023/12/12/houthis-hit-tanker-with-missile-in-red-sea-french-frigate-downs-drones

Houthis Hit Tanker with Missile in Red Sea, French Frigate Downs Drones

By: Heather Mongilio and Sam LaGrone

December 12, 2023 6:19 PM

Bab-el-Mandeb, Gate of Tears, strait on April 10, 2017. The strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, and separates Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. NASA Photo

Houthi forces attacked a Norwegian bio-diesel tanker in the Red Sea on Monday – just days after the spokesman for its military said the organization would target any ships heading to or from Israel.

Motor Tanker Strinda was passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb, the strait that connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, when it was hit by what U.S. officials called an anti-ship missile that caused a fire aboard the ship, U.S. Central Command said in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations reported that the attack occurred just north of the strait, about 15 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Mocha. 

French guided-missile frigate FS Languedoc (653) shot down a drone while patrolling nearby, Naval News reported.

“Languedoc which was patrolling the area intercepted and destroyed a drone directly threatening the Strinda. The FREMM then placed itself in protection of the affected vessel, preventing the attempt to hijack the ship,” reads a Naval News translation of the French Navy statement on the incident.
“The fire on board the Strinda was brought under control. No injuries were reported. The USS Mason then escorted the Strinda to the Gulf of Aden out of the threat zone. Languedoc has resumed its patrol towards the North.”

“The FREMM then placed itself in protection of the affected vessel, preventing the attempt to hijack the ship,” the French said in a statement, according to Naval News. 

While there were no U.S. ships in the area during the attack, USS Mason (DDG-87) moved toward the Norwegian ship in order to provide assistance, according to Central Command. Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Tuesday that Mason stayed in the area to deter more attacks. 

Strinda was headed to Venice, Italy, from Malaysia, Sal Mercogliano, a professor at Campbell University and a maritime expert, wrote in a series of posts on X. The tanker was scheduled to make a port visit to Ashdod, Israel, in January. 

In a series of posts on X, Yahya Sare’e, spokesperson for the Houthi military, said the ship’s planned visit to Israel made it a target based on Sare’e’s Dec. 9 message stating the Houthis will attack any commercial ship that goes to or from Israel. 

Languedoc was also attacked by Houthi drones Saturday, USNI News reported

While the French said the frigate was under attack on Saturday, the Pentagon has maintained that the Houthis have not attacked the U.S., despite Navy ships shooting down numerous drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. 

It’s not clear if the Houthi drones are targeting U.S. Navy ships or merchant ships in the Red Sea, Ryder said, using the example of drones fired toward USS Carney (DDG-64) when it has responded to merchant ship distress calls. 

“What you don’t want to do is let it hit you and then say, ‘Oh, yes, I guess they were trying to attack us.’ So again, we’re going to be circumspect in that when we say we don’t know if it was the intended target, but we do know that it presented a potential threat and we’re going to take appropriate action,” Ryder said.

According to the French Navy, on Saturday, Languedoc downed the drones with an Aster 15 – a short-range air defense missile with a range just over 20 miles, a much shorter range than 100-mile-plus range of the Standard Missile 2s that U.S. ships have used to down similar drones. Defense officials have told USNI News over the last several weeks that destroyers in the Red Sea have preferred to take out the drones when they’re operating at a longer distance from a ship. 

In a spirit spot released for the Army-Navy football game, the Navy said Carney has so far shot down 22 drones or missiles while operating in the Red Sea. 

The U.S. will come to the assistance of the French if asked, Ryder told reporters, but it does not have a responsibility to respond because an attack in the Red Sea is not covered under NATO. 

“It’s not a NATO operation, per se,” Ryder said. “Clearly, France is a close ally. And should they ask for our support or call on us to support them. We will obviously respond and be there to help but again, it’s not a NATO mission, as I understand it.”’

https://breakingdefense.com/2023/12/israel-sends-new-advanced-saar-6-warship-to-red-sea/

Israel sends new, advanced Sa’ar 6 warship to Red Sea

The ship enters a hostile area where drones and missiles fired by the Houthi group in Yemen have targeted commercial vessels and southern Israeli city.

By   SETH J. FRANTZMANon December 13, 2023 at 11:22 AM

An Israeli Sa’ar 6 corvette at sea. (IDF handout)

JERUSALEM — One of Israel’s new Sa’ar 6 corvettes has been deployed to the Red Sea, where it’s anchored off the Israeli port of Eilat, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

The announcement on Tuesday follows increased threats from the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis, which the US says are supported by Iran, have vowed to attack any Israel-bound commercial ship transiting the Red Sea as part of their support for Hamas in Gaza in the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

The Houthis have claimed or been alleged to be behind a series of missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea in recent weeks, including the dramatic seizure of a commercial vessel. Israeli defense systems and American Navy ships in the area have knocked down a number of those threats. On Monday, the Houthis allegedly struck a Norwegian commercial ship with a missile, though it does not appear to have any connection to Israel.

CENTCOM Statement on missile attack in the Bab-el-Mandeb
At around 4 p.m. EST on December 11, the Motor Tanker STRINDA was attacked by what is assessed to have been an Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) launched from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen while passing through the… pic.twitter.com/OJDoubAU2D

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 12, 2023

Some of the unsuccessful Houthi missile attacks reportedly targeted Eilat, in the southern tip of Israel, making the Sa’ar 6 and it’s anti-air capabilities a logical vessel for Israel to deploy there. Earlier, the Israeli Navy deployed a different missile ship there. There was no elaboration on the role the Sa’ar 6 would play in the Red Sea or the total number of Israeli vessels now operating off of Eilat at this time.

ANALYSIS: Houthi targeting of Israel suggests new, longer-range missile in play

Elsewhere, the Israeli navy annoounced that it had completed the “operational processing” of its forth Sa’ar 6 ship. The IDF said this process took two years, “a very rapid pace for installing and adapting advanced combat systems and state-of-the-art Israeli systems for four ships simultaneously.”

The first Sa’ar 6 ship, the INS Magen, arrived in Israel in December 2020. The fourth ship in the class arrived in September 2021. The ships were a major project for the Israeli navy, capping decades of investment in increasing the Israeli navy’s size and ability to project power in the eastern Mediterranean to protect Israel’s exclusive economic zone.

The ships sailed from a shipyard in Germany and once they arrived in Israel they was fitted out with defense systems, most of which were developed by Israel’s big three defense companies. In 2022 Israel successfully tested a IAI Barak long-range missile interceptor aboard the ship. The naval version of Rafael’s Iron Dome, called C-Dome, was also installed and tested on the Sa’ar 6 ships. The ships also carry a 76mm gun, Typhoon weapon stations and other systems.

The Sa’ar 6 ships made their combat debut in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack when they were sent off the coast of Gaza. Though the IDF have not detailed what the Sa’ar 6 ships have done specifically, the IDF said Israeli navy in general has “struck dozens of terror infrastructure sites used by the Hamas naval forces in the central and southern Gaza Strip,” as it did the day after the attack.

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“Like when you’re ramming ships, when you’re using water cannons, when you’re using underwater sonar, lasers blinding people — not helpful, not helpful at all,” said Brig. Gen. Stephen Lightfoot.

By LEE FERRAN

By this Tuesday the IDF said that missile boats and other naval squadrons, which consist of smaller patrol boats, had struck hundreds of targets since the war began.

“Israeli Navy soldiers have eliminated terrorists, including dozens active in Hamas’ naval forces. Most of the leaders of Hamas’ naval forces, which consist of hundreds of operatives specializing in carrying out maritime attacks, have also been targeted and killed,” the IDF said.

When Israel discusses Hamas’s naval forces, it’s generally referring to the group’s maritime commando units, as it’s not known to employ any warships. However, the IDF statements on Tuesday also included an image of an unmanned vessel that Israel says was intercepted by the navy before it could attack “Israel’s strategic maritime assets and coastlines.”

H.I Sutton, who publishes the Cover Shores website devoted to analyzing naval issues, noted that the “Al-Asef” unmanned vehicle is a “torpedo-like weapon with a warhead in the nose. Its metal body is likely assembled in part from compressed gas cylinders. It has a modest diving depth of just a few meters and may rely on a snorkel to provide air to its motor. The propulsion system is unclear, but a hollow hose suggests an internal combustion engine, possibly gasoline-powered.”

The interception of this system suggests that Hamas has attempted to improve its naval capabilities. In past conflicts Hamas focused on naval commandos, which were primarily frogmen who had a limited use and range.

Meanwhile, Israel has stressed the importance of cooperation between the navy, air force, ground forces and other units during the conflict in Gaza. This is part of the larger attempt through its recent multi-year Momentum Plan to streamline operation and use technology to close sensor to shooter circles faster.

[백선호]

후티 반군은 어떤 이득이 있길래 마구잡이 상선 공격을 할까요? 이란이 할 일을 대신 해주면 현금/현물 지원을 잔뜩 받기로 했는지...???

[위종민]

최근 이스라엘 애로우 시스템이 요격하고 있는 후티 탄도탄은 기존에 보유했던 최장거리 탄도탄이었던 부르칸-3보다 더 긴데, 이게 이란이 지원한 가드르-F인 것 같다는 분석기사가 있네요. ( https://breakingdefense.com/2023/12/analysis-houthi-targeting-of-israel-suggests-new-longer-range-missile-in-play/ )

홍해-아덴만 해역에서 이란 프록시로 활동하면서 지원을 빵빵하게 받기로 한 것 같습니다.

[Minowski(김유철)]

홍해와 호르무즈에서 AA/AD 대책도 이제 진지하게 대비해야하는 상황 아닌지 걱정스럽습니다.

[위종민]

날아오는 드론이나 미사일 죄다 요격하긴 어렵거나 수지가 안 맞고 레이더랑 발사대를 부숴야 할 텐데요.