Yemeni Naval Strikes Force America to Withdraw Aircraft Carrier ‘Eisenhower’ and Destroyer ‘Gravely’

In the wake of high-quality military operations by Yemeni armed forces against American, British, and Israeli ships, the United States has been compelled to announce a significant withdrawal of its naval force from the Red Sea. The inability of the United States to protect its ships or halt Yemeni operations has led to this strategic shift.

The US Navy revealed the withdrawal of the aircraft carrier “USS Dwight D. Eisenhower” and the destroyer “USS Gravely” from the Red Sea to the eastern Mediterranean. The American Navy stated that the “USS Dwight D. Eisenhower” and the “USS Gravely” crossed the Suez Canal on Friday to the eastern Mediterranean, after leaving the Red Sea.

The USNI News, affiliated with the American Navy, confirmed that the departure of the aircraft carrier “USS Dwight D. Eisenhower” from the Red Sea leaves the American Central Command area without a striking aircraft carrier group or an amphibious group ready for the first time since October.

In recent times, four warships have withdrawn from the battle in the Red Sea under the strikes of the Yemeni armed forces. Germany announced a few days ago the withdrawal of its frigate “Hessen” from the region to be replaced, amid admissions that the confrontation with Yemen is the most dangerous naval confrontation in decades.

The German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, revealed the withdrawal of the war frigate “Hessen” and the departure from the Red Sea early on Saturday morning (April 20, 2024). The withdrawal operation of the German destroyer came shortly after its arrival on February 23, as part of Germany’s response to American efforts to militarize international waters and mobilize against Yemen.

The German frigate “Hessen” committed a blatant operational error days after its deployment, clashing with an American drone flying in the Red Sea, mistakenly thinking it was a Yemeni drone. This revealed confusion and disarray, as well as a lack of coordination between Western forces.

The Belgian Defense Ministry announced the postponement of the deployment of the frigate “Louise Marie” in the Red Sea due to its failure to counter a drone attack. The Belgian frigate is still in the Mediterranean, and its mission has been postponed indefinitely.

On April 12, the French Navy was forced to withdraw its frigate Alsace (FREMM) from the Red Sea under the pressure of precise Yemeni missiles. The commander of a French frigate revealed to Le Figaro the reasons for the withdrawal of the French frigate (FREMM) Alsace from the Red Sea, indicating that the fear of being directly targeted by missiles and drones coming from Yemen, especially in the light of the rise of the military development path of various units of the Yemeni armed forces, among them the missile force and the air force.

In early April, the Chief of Staff of Denmark, Fleming Lentfer, was dismissed after failing to inform the Defense Minister that “Iver Huitfeldt” had a half-hour malfunction in missile systems and radar during a drone attack last month, and the ship was called early from its mission. The Defense Minister, Truels Lund Poulsen, said in a press conference that he was not informed in detail about the incident, adding that he was not aware of the report submitted by the captain, refusing to delve into details.

In the same context, the Danish website “Olfi”, specialized in defense affairs, revealed that the Danish frigate “Iver Huitfeldt” returned to Denmark urgently after encountering serious problems in defensive weapons systems and vital mission. The Danish site mentioned that the combat management systems in the frigate and the radars associated with it malfunctioned, preventing it from launching intercepting missiles to counter threats coming from Yemen, confirming that the frigate was exposed to direct threats from drones, and despite the official announcement of its successful downfall as a success story, the reality was completely different, as the frigate and its crew were in direct danger due to the failure of defense systems.