Commander of the British Destroyer ‘Diamond’: Yemeni Attacks Becoming More Advanced and Deadly
Military officials have admitted to the escalating threat posed by Yemeni forces in the Red Sea. The commander of the British destroyer “Diamond” confirmed on Monday that Yemeni attacks are becoming increasingly deadly and advanced, making them difficult to defend against.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) published a report prepared aboard the “Diamond,” which Britain dispatched in an attempt to protect ships associated with Israel in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
The report quoted the destroyer’s captain, Pete Evans, stating that the Yemenis “are now using more advanced and deadly weapons.” He said, “Initially when we came to the Red Sea in December, the one-way offensive drones were the main threat, but they are now much more oriented towards ballistic missiles that are difficult to defend against and cause more damage.”
The report also quoted Lieutenant Josh Terry, saying, “The passage area through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to the Gulf of Aden is now called the ‘high threat area,’ where Yemeni attacks on commercial and warships belonging to the (American-British) coalition are concentrated.” He added, “There is regular bombing with drones and missiles.”
The report clarified that “the upper decks of the ship Diamond have been declared a prohibited area” for fear of attacks. It quoted First Lieutenant Martin Harris, the executive officer on the ship, saying that Yemeni missiles move at a speed three times the speed of sound.
The report confirmed that the ship “Diamond” has not yet shot down any Yemeni missile.
These statements add to many confessions made by senior officers in the US Navy in recent weeks. The BBC itself quoted the commander of the American destroyers operating in the Red Sea a week ago, saying, “Yemen has become the biggest threat to the US Navy in modern history, and American ships have not been in a situation like this where they are shot at daily since World War II.”
A senior American military official told “CNN” earlier that the Yemenis continuously surprise American forces.
A report by the American magazine “Defense News” revealed a few days ago that the US Navy resorted to studying the introduction of updates to its tactics and defense systems to keep up with Yemeni attacks.