ABOARD THE USS EISENHOWER, the Red Sea — One by one, nearly two dozen Navy F/A-18 fighter jets roared off the deck of this aircraft carrier Saturday night as part of a joint U.S.-British attack on Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen who have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea.
It was the second night in a row that attack aircraft from the Eisenhower have targeted Houthi forces. Earlier in the day, sailors on a nearby destroyer, the USS Mason, demonstrated the high-speed decision-making needed for them to intercept and shoot down incoming missiles fired by the Houthis.
NBC News is currently the only news organization embedded with the U.S. Navy in the Red Sea while it is conducting strikes.
Adrenaline and morale appeared to be running high among crew members on both U.S. ships, despite the threat of incoming drones or ballistic missiles from the Houthis. As the Eisenhower, Mason and accompanying warships patrol the area, the weather is windy and warm, with a bright sun reflecting off the rippling water surrounding them.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday that U.S. and U.K. forces had “conducted strikes against 36 Houthi targets at 13 locations” in Yemen that included “multiple underground storage facilities, command and control, missile systems, UAV storage and operations sites, radars, and helicopters.”
Houthi militants based in Yemen have attacked roughly 30 cargo ships navigating the Red Sea since Nov. 19. An estimated 12% of global shipping passes through the strategic waterway daily.
Last month, Maersk and other shipping giants announced pauses in their operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, moves that added time and money to the delivery of goods by ship. If the Houthi attacks continue, they could fuel consumer price increases in the U.S. as the 2024 election approaches.
Houthi leaders dismissed the U.S. and U.K. strikes on Saturday and vowed to continue their Red Sea attacks until Israel ends its military operations in…
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