Carrier Air Wing 3 from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), USS Gravely (DDG-107), USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) were involved in Thursday’s strike on Houthi targets in Yemen, a senior defense official told reporters Friday.
An Ohio-class submarine was also involved, but Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff, did not identify the submarine. However, USS Florida (SSGN-728) entered the Red Sea in November.
A senior U.S. official told Military.com that 22 fixed-wing aircraft were involved in the strikes, with more than 80 Tomahawk missiles launched.
After striking 16 locations, which may have had multiple targets, the U.S. and United Kingdom identified 12 additional locations, which were struck.
Sims expects the Houthis will have some sort of retaliation for the strikes, noting that they fired a ballistic missile Friday that did not hit any ships. Sims did not provide additional details.
“My guess is that the Houthis are trying to figure things out on the ground and trying to determine what capabilities still exist for them,” he told reporters.
Houthi-run news outlet Saba reported that there were five deaths and six injuries from the strikes. Sims did not have casualty numbers but said he expected them to be low because of where the targets were located.
In a statement, the Houthi Armed Forces said that there would be a response to the strikes, according to Saba.
