Late at night, at the direction of their respective governments, the militaries of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand conducted an additional round of strikes against 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen in response to the Houthis’ continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea.
The strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilising Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes on January 11 and 22, 2024, including the January 27 attack which struck and set ablaze the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda.
Last night’s strike specifically targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defence systems, and radars.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence:
“The Typhoons employed Paveway IV precision guided bombs against multiple military targets identified by careful intelligence analysis at three locations. At As Salif, due west of Sanaa on the Red Sea coast, our aircraft targeted a ground control station inside a defensive position. This station had been used to control Houthi drones, both attack and reconnaissance types, launched from further inland, operating over the sea against international shipping.
A second drone ground control station was confirmed to be at Al Munirah, on the same stretch of coastline. As with As Salif, the station provided direct control of reconnaissance and attack drones targeting shipping in the Red Sea, its position on the coast allowing it to maintain the line of sight data links such weapons require to target ships with any accuracy. The Typhoons also attacked a significant number of targets at Bani. An initial group of facilities there were successfully struck by the RAF on the night of 11 January, and since then a further set of buildings at the site had been positively confirmed as involved in the Houthi drone and missile operations and were duly targeted on this occasion.
As is standard practice with such operations by the Royal Air Force, the strikes were very carefully planned to ensure minimal risk of civilian casualties, and by bombing at night, any such risks were further mitigated.”
Here’s the Joint Statement from Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States on Additional Strikes Against the Houthis in Yemen.
“Today, at the direction of their respective governments, the militaries of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand conducted an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes against 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen in response to the Houthis’ continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea.
These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes on January 11 and 22, 2024, including the January 27 attack which struck and set ablaze the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda.
Today’s strike specifically targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars.
The Houthis’ now more than 30 attacks on commercial vessels and naval vessels since mid-November constitute an international challenge. Recognizing the broad consensus of the international community, our coalition of likeminded countries committed to upholding the rules-based order has continued to grow. We remain committed to protecting freedom of navigation and international commerce and holding the Houthis accountable for their illegal and unjustifiable attacks on commercial shipping and naval vessels.
Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea but let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats.”
Launching from Akrotiri?
Dare I mention it again 😜 On the plus side, we have at least ordered some new trucks. PARIS — The French government said this week that it spent some $21.9 billion (€20.3 billion) on equipment across the breadth of its armed forces in 2023, revealing some multi-billion-euro purchases alongside prior high-profile deals. Though it was known, for instance, that Paris negotiated a $5.5 billion deal for 42 new Rafale fighters. and just under $1 billion for high-sea patrol vehicles, the announcement Thursday also detailed a few procurements that flew under the radar, like additional armored vehicles, helicopters for special… Read more »
And what are our beloved government doing to replace donated equipment, grow our armed forces and prepare for the inevitable conflict we all know by every metric is coming? Zilch, zip, nadder. Rowing back on commitments, cuts cuts and more cuts. I think they are waiting to see what happens with Trump/ US elections. If it ends up against NATO then they might just might have to order the equipment in and increase the armed forces. The UK is suffering from a distinct lack of political leadership and is strategically blind to the growing and imminent dangers. It is called… Read more »
I tend to agree with sour sentiments Mr Bell, a very sorry state of affairs.
I’d opt for the latter!
This what I,m writing here some time ago, they know perfectly the geopolitical dangerous situation but they,re traitors who want a Britain unarmed.
“High intensity”- The French do high intensity ops, we do high intensity cuts.
I think our new Prime ministers including Johnson come from a generation where the army is not in their consciousness. Chancellor Hunt also not of that mindset . I think increase in defence spending requires a new law to go through parliament to make it binding and long term . Your correct the behaviour is treasonous and is a national scandal of the highest order
Did you notice that we ordered some new trucks while selling identical ones on MoD disposal site? And, in spite of the fact we have no GBAD, offensive weapons on our type 45’s, and not enough Army to use the trucks?
Hello McMeekin Ian, no I hadn’t. No surprises then eh 🙈
As of the end of March 2023, the potential costs amounted to £305 billion, which is more than the allocated budget of £288 billion.
The Ministry of Defense notes that the government will increase the defense budget to £288.6 billion over the next decade and remains committed to increasing defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2035
Army are not selling any.
Louis wrote:
“”Army are not selling any.””
Google:
Govsales
Then click on Trucks.
Can’t find a single HX77 on there, let alone an EPLS.
Have you noticed we are spending £288Bn on new equipment. Obviously not.
That can’t be true, as you should know from reading the comments section the UK is crap at everything while French forces are second only to the USA, that’s if we lend them the heavy lift helicopters, strategic lifters and C4ISTAR to conduct light operations in the North African desert. 😀
I don’t see Rafales striking targets in Yeman at will. Or the CDG in the area. The French Air Force don’t want more Rafales. They want F35. But the French Gov won’t buy American and they have no industrial stake in the project. So they have a very long wait for 5th or 6th gen capability. Some commentators are very good belittling the UK in every post while bigging up everyone else, including our enemies.
Well said – its a national malaise – self flagellation from ignorance
No one talks themselves better – world champions.
Really? Here are some actual facts for you to ponder. Personally, I call it reality. TR3 Delayed “Deliveries of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets to the US military are being delayed again and despite all the metal, software is the culprit. Lockheed held its fourth-quarter earnings call yesterday, with president and CEO Jim Taiclet blaming the delays on software associated with Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3), a key component of modernization efforts for the aircraft, which were first delivered to the US military in 2015. “While this system maturation process continues to advance, it is taking somewhat more time than… Read more »
Correct Robert. What is the external threat to the U.K. that excites these dismal comments? Our closest putative enemy is Russia. I mean, where to start? The fallen super power holding its own against Ukraine! The other live threat to our national interest at present is Iran. The effort against the Islamic Republic is best described as ‘asymmetric’ – messing them up out of sight. As for Yemen and the Suez Canal – France needs it more than we do; China more than France. Remember the Suez Canal was blocked for ages 1967-75. The response was to build super tankers… Read more »
Ridiculous.
So the French air force don’t want 5th gen all aspect stealth capability and the most advanced radar/avionics and weapon systems ever Installed on a fast jet? and have access go the worlds largest defence project and technology. Ok Alex. I’d take the Pepsi challenge on that claim.
Some people really do live in cloud cuckoo land! The engine upgrade will not begin until at least 2029-2031 for us to add Spear 3 and Meteor providing all goes to plan lol and where we happen to be in the queue for them. TR3 Delayed “Deliveries of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets to the US military are being delayed again and despite all the metal, software is the culprit. Lockheed held its fourth-quarter earnings call yesterday, with president and CEO Jim Taiclet blaming the delays on software associated with Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3), a key component of modernization… Read more »
Your missing the point, the block III aircraft we currently operate with AMRAAM and Paveway IV is already one of the most advanced capabilities in the world and more than adequate for any task. Block IV is now so advance it really should be described as the F35 DEF version. It comes with a new radar and enhanced engine. The Block IV weapons we integrate in Meteor and SPEAR are about keeping the F35 relevant for decades to come. All our aircraft will be upgraded to block IV because we purchased them later than the US. That’s very different to… Read more »
No Jim I’m not. I think he knows more than both of us. And yes we will be paying towards the upgrades. “A senior U.S. Air Force officer has said that there is no value in including the service’s current fleet of F-35A Joint strike fighters in tabletop war games simulating future high-end conflicts, such as one covering an American military response to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That same individual also called into question how relevant any of the service’s existing examples of these fighter jets would be for conducting combat operations near or over the territory of a… Read more »
The MOD is on record stating all our F35 will be upgraded to block IV standard. Also these war games are based largely on future scenarios not today and this is why F35 is being upgraded so it can continue to cope with future threats.
Hi Jim, my reply was in answer to your original post.
“The UK and US will also be operating large fleets of 4th Gen aircraft but they have the 5th Gen aircraft to conduct SEAD/DEAD operations at the start of a conflict that the French don’t have”
“We wouldn’t even play the current version of the F-35,” Hinote said. “It wouldn’t be worth it. … Every fighter that rolls off the line today is a fighter that we wouldn’t even bother putting into these scenarios.”
Hi Nige, part of the engine upgrade is already being incorporated. This was due to the elevated temperatures that the turbine was running at. Which has significantly affected the F35B, running the F135-600 engine. This showed up as micro-fractures and the flaking off of protective coatings. Which was found during periodic maintenance.
The fix is to introduce a new turbine section. Which was originally planned for inclusion in the scheduled engine upgrade. The new turbine should allow the engine to run longer at max temperatures.
A good start then!
good commentary Robert!👌
The really important point is the French are changing there armed forces to focus on high intensity warfare..this is very interesting as since after WW2 the French military posture..especially their army has been that of a space between a low intensity force and a high intensity force…because of their perceived needs around colonial warfare in Africa..which required lighter air mobile forces…but also the ability to fight an army designed for high intensity warfare ( the USSR)…France picked a route in which it designed its army to fight colonial wars but to be just heavyweight enough so it could force another… Read more »
Yes, that could very well be the case as you say.
Remember France has operated a defacto empire in Africa for deacdes but its now rapidly loosing it.
That’s part of the reason for the shift the other is that it wishes to capture the EU as its new defacto empire replacing the US and UK as the strategic framework that European powers operate around.
France has always had an ambitious and pugnacious foreign policy….led it to trouble more than once or twice…but then you can say the same about UK foreign policy ( although ours post war tends to be more focused on the international order and Frances is more about pure french interests).
And all of it built in France
They’ll run out of targets soon, revert to type and then start bombing farmers and goat herders/weddings etc They only bomb countries that can’t fight back.
Have you noticed that the Houthi are shooting anti shipping balistic missiles at ships heading for Europe the west does not even have anti shipping ballistic missiles…the west did not start shooting at the Houthi the Houthi started shooting at the west…contrary to you clear belief that the Houthi are farmers..they are not…they are a trained dedicated military force of dedicated extremists..who if you were ever unlucky enough to be next to, would capture or kill you for nothing more than where you were born..many of these individuals have been killing people for years and are equipped with a wide… Read more »
Well said mate. I was going to reply to him, but I’m increasingly losing the will to live with the UK bashing comments shared by morons.
it really blows my mind that anyone thinks the houthis are victims here. the cheap russian propaganda bots on twitter really do a number on people lol. was especially funny that russia complained to the UN about us bombing houthi missile launchers.😃 how does anyone fall for that crap? utterly embarrassing… shipment disruptions through the suez affect europe more than anyone else, and it seems like europeans are the ones crying the most about the US spending by far the most resources trying to sort it out when its really not their mess.
Well to be far the shipping lines from the Indian Ocean to the east coast of the US run through the Red Sea as well….
A very good post Jonathan, thank you.
Hi Jonathan, It appears our Typhoon DASS seems to be working well and the Super Hornets/ B1B lancers are too. Fingers crossed it remains that way. 🙏
Do we know if the F-35 has taken part yet, or isn’t there a need for it?
They would have had a field day with this, posting on social media.
“Yemeni media outlets are reporting that a Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoon was shot down over Yemen yesterday. However no pictures have been released to back Houthi rebels claims, so far.
Earlier this month, on Oct. 1, a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down over Sanaa: footage filmed from several different locations (the UAV was over the capital in daylight conditions when it was destroyed) depicted the incident from start to finish.”
I know one crashed into a mountain due to a technical malfunction.
You utter idiot – grow up
🤣
Well, harmless Southern World civilian seafarers working to earn a crust are already being bombed by your mates … and first.
Will the farmers be getting married to the goat herders at these weddings you speak of? Do they happen to share an interest in remote controlled airplanes and commercial shipping?
The RAF would like to know how many paveways they would like to order. Free express air delivery.