A United States Navy destroyer has been targeted in the Red Sea in a failed missile attack from territory in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels.
John Richardson said the guided missile destroyer USS Mason deployed electronic countermeasures to foil the attack and was not hit in Saturday's incident -the third such attack on US naval vessels in the area in the past week.
Last Monday, the USS Mason was passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
The rockets fired at the USS Mason on Sunday and again Wednesday were believed to be the first time since 1987 that a United States warship has been targeted by an incoming missile. "We also saw one in the middle of last week and now we see more activity".
A USA official said that additional radars could have been used in Saturday's reported attack. "All of our ships and crews are safe and unharmed". The ship had been attacked two times before in the past week, which triggered retaliatory strikes against radars used by Houthi rebels in those attacks.
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Multiple cruise missiles targeted a US destroyer in the Red Sea on Saturday, but the US Naval ship took evasive action and was not hit, according to the chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson. In a statement, the Pentagon warned that any new missile attacks risked another us military response. According to one USA official, an initial report indicated that the destroyer had deployed defensive missiles, which resulted in the interception of one of the missiles, and that the other may have fallen into the sea. At least one missile was sacked, the officials said.
"They have everything that they need to defend themselves from these attacks and respond when needed and so we're proud of the crews - they've done terrific", Richardson told reporters.
"It's another thing that just shows you, this is risky business", he added.
The following is the October 15, 2016 Pentagon statement provided to USNI News on the apparent attack on USS Mason.
"A U.S. Strike Group transiting global waters in the Red Sea detected possible inbound missile threats and deployed appropriate defensive measures".
