Could the Houthis Sink a U.S. Navy Warship?

Key Points and Summary: The US Navy’s perfect record defending against the Houthis missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea highlights its superior training, doctrine, and weaponry.

-Rear Admiral Javon Hakimsadeh credits this success while emphasizing the importance of adapting to evolving threats like the Houthis.

-Littoral Combat Ships now feature upgraded Hellfire missiles capable of counter-drone operations, reflecting the Navy’s shift toward more flexible, kinetic options.

-Meanwhile, the Navy is also exploring directed energy weapons for their unlimited power potential.

-These innovations, combined with software and hardware upgrades, aim to ensure ships remain protected against future drone and missile threats in an increasingly complex combat environment.

Red Sea Houthi Lessons: How the Navy Is Innovating Against Drone and Missile Threats

The US Navy’s record using guns, fighter jets, and interceptor missiles to shoot down and destroy Houthi missiles and drone attacks in the Red Sea has essentially been “flawless,” something service leaders credit to sailor training, doctrine, and weapons effectiveness.

However, despite this perfect record against the Houthis, the Navy has been working intensely to harvest and implement lessons learned from its Houthi Red Sea maritime combat experience.

Houthis: A Threat Neutralized by the US Navy

The Commanding Officer of Carrier Strike Group 2 in the Red Sea Rear. Admiral Javon Hakimsadeh told me the Navy was analyzing “lessons learned” from the Red Sea and Houthi attacks and exploring new weapons applications and Concepts of Operation to prepare for future drone and missile threats against their ships and assets.

Navy Commander Speaks Ship Defense

“How do we expand the options that a sailor has to be able to take care of a drone? And I think in the near term, it’s probably going to be something along the lines of a gun system or a kinetic way to do it with guns and ordnance, but the long -term, I’d love to see things like directed energy, you know, something that can just recharge and give you that almost infinite magazine size, right? You don’t have to worry about your magazine size, because if you can keep generating the power to be able to launch your directed energy, if you will. “ Hakimsadeh told me back in 2024.

Sure enough, Hakimsadeh’s reference to new “kinetic options” is entirely accurate, as it is already getting traction in the Navy.

The service is further arming its Littoral Combat Ships with radar-guided Hellfire missiles to counter the growing drone threat from the Houthis and other aggressors.

The US Navy recently released a statement explaining that the LCS-armed Hellfire will expand its attack capabilities to incorporate drone defense.

The LCS is already armed with Hellfire missiles for land attack, surface fire and attacks on large aircraft, yet its Surface-to-Surface Mission Module (SMSS) has now been upgraded and modified with software and hardware to track and destroy drones.

Upgrading Hellfire

“Originally designed to extend the range and number of targets that the LCS can engage using vertically launched Longbow Hellfire (LBHF) missiles to counter small boat threats, the SSMM has since demonstrated its ability to counter a variety of threats,” the Navy essay says.

“This rapid deployment of C-UAS [counter-uncrewed aerial systems] capability underscores the flexibility of SSMM in addressing a range of threats, including surface, land, and aerial challenges.”

This is quite significant because, as Hakimsadeh explained, both kinetic and non-kinetic weapons will be needed to address the anticipated and evolving enemy drone attack threat.

Many Hellfire variants can be tailored with different kinds of explosives, ranging from point-detonate to “area” fuses to increase fragmentation against a minor “group” or moving targets.

The software upgrades referred to by the Navy likely involve new guidance, command and control, and “fusing” or explosives technology to enable the weapon better to execute counter-drone missions against the Houthis and other bad actors.

About the Author: Kris Osborn

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.