Houthis take part in a protest organized in solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon against Israeli aggression in both regions, in Sana’a, Yemen, on November 1, 2024.
The magnitude of the weapons arsenal that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have at their disposal is unexpected news for the Pentagon. The main weapons buyer for the US Department of Defense, Bill LaPlante, highlighted that the group acquires increasingly sophisticated weapons and possesses missiles that “can do simply amazing things.”
“I am an engineer and physicist, and I have worked in the missile field throughout my career,” explained the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. “What I have seen of what the Houthis have done in the last six months is something that leaves me dumbfounded,” he acknowledged.
The Houthis claimed to have carried out two operations aimed at attacking American ships. The first was perpetrated against the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea using several missiles and drones.
The second targeted two American destroyers in the Red Sea, which were attacked with a series of ballistic missiles and drones. The group stated that the operations lasted eight hours and “successfully achieved their objectives.”
The Houthis have repeatedly stated that they “will continue to carry out military operations against the Israeli enemy until the aggression ceases and the siege of the Gaza Strip, as well as the aggression against Lebanon, is lifted.”
