For more than half of 2024, the view for the sailors aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) or one of the destroyers attached to the carrier strike group was much of the same.
Water. Blistering heat. Drones. Anti-ship ballistic missiles.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group spent the first half of 2024 in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden supporting Operation Prosperity Guardian, the multi-national coalition aimed at protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks.
The Houthis might take the top award in 2024 for the Navy’s most persistent problem. The Iran-backed organization startled the international world toward the end of 2023 but solidified itself as a threat to commercial shipping in 2024.
Over the course of last year, the U.S. with its allies and partners continued Operation Prosperity Guardian, a collaboration created in December 2023 meant to deter Houthi attacks against commercial shipping. The year also saw the U.S. take a more offensive role by striking a number of Houthi weapons and facilities, saying that they were defensive actions. In responding to the new threat in the Middle East, the Navy had to adjust its carrier schedules and deployments, pulling from the West Coast in order to provide coverage.
The first couple of months of 2024 saw nonstop Houthi attacks. As 2024 tipped into the second half, Houthi attacks began to slow as the Yemen-based group moved to attack Israel instead of commercial shipping. That change reflected the American approach to the Middle East, shifting West Coast-based carriers to cover the gap left behind Ike’s departure and then allowing destroyers to defend the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without a carrier.
The U.S. ended 2024 with a carrier strike group – the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group – back in the Red Sea.
January 2024 began with a British destroyer joining U.S. destroyers and aircraft from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), which entered the Red Sea in November 2023, to shoot down a barrage of Houthi missiles and drones.
A few days later, on Jan. 11, the U.S. and the United Kingdom, with support from Bahrain, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada, launched the first joint strikes against the Houthis, striking 60 targets across 16 sites in Yemen, USNI News reported at the time.
Two days after, USS Carney (DDG-64), the first destroyer to interact with the Houthis, struck a Houthi radar site with a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile.
Following the U.S.-U.K. attacks on Houthi facilities in Yemen, the Houthis announce they will attack American and British naval and commercial ships. The Houthis previously limited targeting to ships they said had Israeli connections.
The Houthis attacked the first American-owned ship in January. The month also saw the beginning of Central Command’s continuous strikes on Houthi facilities and weaponry in an attempt to downgrade the Houthis abilities. The strikes continue throughout the year.
Toward the end of the month, the U.S. and U.K., with support from Bahrain, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada, once again launched a coordinated strike against the Houthis.
Most of winter and spring saw near-daily attacks by the Houthis and CENTCOM strikes on Houthi infrastructure and weapons. Houthi strikes include U.S. Navy destroyers as targets, although no destroyer is hit or damaged in 2024. The majority of Houthi attacks were done with one-way attack drones or anti-ship ballistic missiles, although anti-ship cruise missiles are also in the Houthis’ arsenal. On March 9, as an example, U.S. Navy ships shoot down 28 Houthi drones.
In February, the Houthis hit British cargo ship M/V Rubymar, causing damage to the ship, which held fertilizer. The crew evacuated.
Rubymar was the first commercial ship to take on damage from the Houthi attacks. It eventually sinks on March 2. Two days later, a Houthi missile hits an MSC ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile, causing a small fire, which the crew extinguishes.
On March 6, the Houthis hit Greek-operated ship M/V True Confidence. Three merchant sailors were killed with four others injured. The crew evacuated the ship. It was the first time a Houthi attack resulted in fatalities.
In May, the Houthis expanded their targets, announcing they would attack any ship supplying or heading to or from Israel.
The Houthis often announced that they successfully hit many of the ships that they targeted with little proof. It is unclear exactly how accurate the Houthi strikes are as Central Command does not release a report on every attack. When the Houthis do land a strike, the ships are often able to continue on with minimal damage.
However, the Houthis did sink a few ships over 2024, in addition to Rubymar and True Confidence.
The Houthis struck M/V Tutor on June 12, and caused flooding and damage to the ship’s engine room.
The next day, the group struck M/V Verbena, causing a fire to break out and injuring a civilian mariner. Aircraft from USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) evacuated the mariner to another ship for medical care.
The crews of both ships evacuate, with sailors from the IKE CSG helping Tutor’s crew. A sailor with Tutor was declared deceased.
On Aug. 21, the Houthis attacked M/V Delta Sounion, causing a fire. Crew from the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, which arrived in the Red Sea on July 12, rescued two mariners.
In some cases, the Houthis did land attacks on ships with damage, including the May 18 strike on M/T Wind, a Panamanian-flagged, Greek-owned and -operated oil tanker that flooded from the attack. The ship was able to continue on its way after restoring its own propulsion.
But in other cases, the Houthis claim to target and successfully attack ships when it is clear that they did not achieve their goal. This happens with the Houthi claims they have struck U.S. Navy ships, including Ike, when, as of Jan. 2, 2025, no U.S. Navy ships have been struck by Houthi drones or missiles.
In June, the Dwight D. Eisenhower CSG departed the Red Sea, traveled into the Mediterranean and then home, arriving back in Norfolk on July 14.
To accommodate the Navy’s needs in the Red Sea, the Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln CSGs, both of which are West Coast-based, shifted into the Red Sea.
The Harry S. Truman CSG was expected to relieve the Ike CSG but had not yet finished its predeployment requirements.
TR left in September. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Middle East in August and left in November.
After Abe and the carrier strike group left, the Navy relied on four destroyers in Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. USS Stockdale (DDG-106), one of the destroyers, is involved in multiple incidents where it shoots down Houthi weaponry targeting the ship.
After roughly a month of the destroyers being without a carrier, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group entered on Dec. 15. Six days later, USS Gettysurg (CG-64) shot down an American F/18 Super Hornet assigned to Truman. The two pilots ejected and were recovered.
The Houthis claim on Dec. 22 that they shot down an American F/18 Super Hornet, possibly trying to take credit for the friendly fire incident.
The U.S. ends the year with one more strike on Houthi targets, with aircraft from the Navy and Air Force, as well as Navy ships, involved. The Houthis also launched cruise missiles and drones at the Navy, which were shot down.
