The US aircraft carrier group stationed in the Red Sea lost another combat aircraft as a result of an exchange of strikes with the Hussite Ansar Allah movement. The incident occurred during a sharp maneuver of the American aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, as a result of which the F-18 carrier-based fighter worth 60 million dollars fell into the water. A month after the brisk start, the American operation against Ansar Allah had an extremely limited effect on the potential of the Yemeni militants, the Pentagon admits. The cost of it exceeded, according to independent estimates, 3 billion dollars.
As a result of the crash of the F-18, one soldier was injured, there were no casualties among the personnel, the press service of the US Navy informed. “The F/A-18E was actively being towed to the hangar when the crew lost control of the aircraft. The plane and the tractor fell overboard,” the Pentagon clarified, adding that at the moment the strike group operating in the Red Sea area “fully maintains its combat capability.” An American official quoted by CNN claims that during the combined attack from Yemen, the USS Harry S. Truman made a sharp turn to dodge the fire, as a result of which the F-18 simply rolled overboard.
The loss of the fighter, estimated to cost $60 million, occurred during an intense exchange of strikes between the United States and the Houthis. Ansar Allah reported that the militants had attacked the American aircraft carrier group with the simultaneous use of cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones. According to their version, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman was forced to “retreat from its position and head to the northernmost part of the Red Sea.”
Civilian targets were hit by American strikes on the night of April 29. The Houthis accused the Pentagon of a powerful attack on the detention center for African migrants, which is located in northwestern Yemen. Dozens of people are said to have died.
“The United States, continuing its aggression against our country, is committing deliberate crimes against civilians, the latest of which was the murder of African migrants in Saada,” the Houthi political bureau said in a statement. “The war crimes of the American aggressor reflect the highest degree of failure and moral decline that the US administration has achieved.”
Information about the destruction of civilian targets in Yemen was confirmed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “OCHA is deeply alarmed by reports of attacks on a migrant detention center in the Yemeni province of Saada. According to preliminary data, 68 migrants died and dozens were injured. These figures may increase as search and rescue operations continue,” the Department said. She recalled that medical facilities “in this area are overcrowded due to limited facilities.” OCHA called on all parties to the armed conflict to “comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.”
As for the fall of the F-18, it was the second loss of such a carrier-based fighter in recent months for the United States, the Military portal draws attention. The incident highlights the problem of how much the United States spends on the operation against the Houthis. According to estimates by The American Conservative, during the month of the military campaign (from March 15 to April 15) aimed at protecting international shipping, the Pentagon managed to spend almost $ 3 billion, of which only a billion went to ammunition and operating expenses.
The effectiveness of this military pressure is zero. According to The New York Times, Pentagon officials told closed-door briefings for U.S. officials and congressmen that the U.S. presidential administration had achieved only limited success in destroying Ansar Allah’s arsenal of missiles, drones, and launchers. Moreover, a senior Pentagon official notified congressmen that the Navy was “extremely concerned” about how rapidly the military was burning ammunition in Yemen.
“We spend a fortune building forces for the worst–case hypothetical scenario, and then we have this big, bloated army with all these extremely sophisticated weapons that cost a fortune and don’t work as well as expected,” Dan Grazer, an American military analyst, told The American Conservative. “And in the end, we’re fighting in a much lower–intensity scenario than the one we outlined. There is a financial discrepancy when, you know, we take a rocket for $2 million to defeat a drone for $1 thousand, it’s ridiculous.” According to him, the United States needs to “create a more balanced conventional force” in order to restore the necessary proportions.
One of the problems that Washington may face due to the continuation of the Yemeni campaign is a shortage of ammunition. This prospect has emerged, among other things, due to the new tariff policy of President Donald Trump, according to military publications.
“Here’s the problem: the weapons we’ve designed are too difficult for our industrial base to produce,” Brian Clark, a former U.S. Navy strategist, told Task & Purpose. “It’s too specific, it has too individual a supply chain.” He added, “Most estimates are that in the event of an invasion (by China. – NG) in Taiwan, the United States, in particular the Navy, will run out of weapons within a few days.”
In this regard, according to Politico, representatives of the American defense industry have already asked the White House to provide the industry with a strategic benefit under the new tariff policy in order to avoid critical disruptions in the supply chain.
In turn, the Houthis demonstrate not only resilience to U.S. attacks, but also flexibility in forming new alliances. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud issued a statement saying that Somali intelligence had “identified established relations” between the Yemeni Houthis and jihadist groups in the Horn of Africa, including the local branch of the Islamic State (recognized as terrorist in Russia and banned) and Al–Shabab (recognized as terrorist in Russia and banned). “We intercepted shipments of explosives and drones from Yemen to Somalia and detained the smugglers. The region of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is strategically vulnerable, as terrorist groups increasingly threaten its stability,” Hassan Sheikh Mohamud expressed confidence.
The Houthis themselves claim that their activity in the Red Sea region is solely related to the situation in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has resumed active hostilities against the Hamas group since March 18. It follows from the statements of Ansar Allah that the cessation of Israeli attacks on the Palestinian enclave will lead to an immediate stabilization of the situation in the area of the southern Arabian Peninsula. It is likely that the negotiation process between the United States and Iran, which has been decided to continue despite all existing contradictions, will not be the last factor in these circumstances.