USS Mason shoots down another drone in the Red Sea

The Navy destroyer Mason shot down a drone on Wednesday that officials attributed to Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen — the latest episode of a US warship intercepting drones and aerial missiles in the Middle East in recent weeks.

A military official, who requested anonymity to discuss operations, said: “We can confirm that the USS Mason shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle that took off from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at 10:20 a.m. (Yemeni time) on December 6 in the southern sea. the Red”. Email to Navy Times. “There was no damage or casualties to American equipment or personnel.”

As with other recent cases in which Navy ships shot down drones, the official said the drone was headed toward Mason but its intended target was unclear. No additional details were provided Wednesday.

This incident comes days after the Navy destroyer Carney shot down several drones on Sunday, as several commercial ships were attacked by the Houthis in Yemen with missiles launched from areas controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, in addition to ongoing attacks on US ground forces in Iraq. And Syria after that. War breaks out between Israel and Hamas.

“We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, although launched by the Houthis in Yemen, were entirely enabled by Iran,” US Central Command said in a statement late Sunday afternoon US time. He added, “The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its allies and international partners.”

Late last month, the Pentagon said the Houthis fired at least one ballistic missile in the general direction of the ship Mason in the Gulf of Aden as it responded to a distress call from the Israel-linked merchant ship Central Park.

“We also assess at this point that the two ships, the Mason and the Central Park, were not the intended targets,” said Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Rader told reporters on November 28.

Ryder also told reporters last month that five armed individuals from Somalia boarded the Central Park and sought to take control of the ship and gain access to the crew cabin. He said the crew of the merchant ship had locked themselves “in a safe haven.”

When Maysoon arrived in response to the distress call, the gunmen fled the scene. However, a search and seizure team sent by Mason detained them on the ship.

USS Mason is part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, which departed Norfolk, Virginia, in October for a scheduled deployment. The tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz into the Arabian Gulf last month.