In today’s newsletter: American pilots adapt new tactics to destroy Houthi weapons. A life-threatening weather system hits California. And Taylor Swift makes history at the Grammys.
Here’s what to know today.
For U.S. carrier pilots, a vexing mission hunting down Houthi weaponry
For pilots on board the USS Eisenhower in the Red Sea, the effort to safeguard commercial shipping requires them to adapt to an unexpected mission. “We did not train to come to the South Red Sea and do what we are currently doing,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Travis Keating, an F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot. “When we first came out here, we had a lot of unknowns.”
More than two dozen F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters and support aircraft flew off the U.S. Navy ship to take part in a joint U.S.-U.K. mission to target Iranian-supplied ballistic missiles and drones that Houthi forces use to strike cargo ships in the Red Sea. U.S. destroyers accompanying the carrier fired Tomahawk missiles at Houthi targets on shore.
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In all, the U.S. and the U.K. struck 36 Houthi targets in 13 locations in Yemen, U.S. officials said in this round of strikes. Despite the U.S.-led airstrikes, Houthi fighters in Yemen vowed to keep up their attacks in the Red Sea until Israel halts its military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Houthi attacks have forced shipping companies to divert vessels to longer, costlier routes. About 12% of global shipping passes through the waterway daily, and the strikes pose a threat to supply chains that could cause a rise in consumer prices. It remains unclear whether the stepped-up airstrikes will quell the Houthis’ attacks on commercial cargo vessels.
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