2023-12-16 14:38:02
LONDON (AP) — A Royal Navy warship has shot down a suspected attack drone targeting merchant ships in the Red Sea, Britain’s defense secretary said Saturday.
Grant Shapps said HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone “targeting merchant shipping”. The nighttime action is the first time the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target since the 1991 Gulf War.
Shapps said attacks on commercial vessels in the artery of global trade by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “represent a direct threat to international trade and maritime security.”
“Britain remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade,” he said in a statement.
Global shipping has become a target during the war between Israel and Hamas, which like the Houthis is backed by Iran. The Houthis have launched a series of attacks against ships in the Red Sea, as well as drones and missiles against Israel.
Earlier this month, three commercial vessels in the Red Sea were hit by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen, and a U.S. warship shot down three drones during the assault, the U.S. military said.
On Friday, Maersk, the largest shipping company in the world, told all its ships that planned to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea to “pause their journey until further notice” after the missile attack. against a Liberian-flagged freighter.
The HMS Diamond was sent to the region two weeks ago as a deterrent measure, joining ships from the United States, France and other countries.
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