USS Laboon (DDG-58) shot down a Houthi-launched drone over the Red Sea Saturday morning local time, U.S. Central Command announced via social media site X.
Laboon, which transited the Suez Canal on Dec. 18, has now shot down five Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles. On Dec. 23, Laboon shot down four drones, USNI News previously reported. Laboon is currently assigned to the U.S. 5th Fleet.
The Central Command statement does not say what the Houthi drones were targetting. There were multiple commercial vessels in the area, but no casualties or damage to ships were reported.
U.K. Maritime Trade Operations reported a “suspicious approach” Saturday that involved six small vessels approaching a merchant ship, according to the alert put out by the organization. All six vessels have since left the area and no harm came to the ship, according to UKMTO.
It is unclear if the Houthi-launched drone was related to the incident.
