European Union Operation Aspides photo
- A French warship intercepted at least three Houthi ballistic missiles on Thursday.
- Intense footage shows the moment a surface-to-air missile launched and hit one of the threats.
- It marks the latest engagement between Western navies and the Houthis.
Newly released footage from a French frigate operating in the southern Red Sea shows the warship shooting down a Houthi ballistic missile on Thursday.
The frigate, which is deployed to the region as part of the European Union security mission Operation Aspides, destroyed three ballistic missiles during the incident, marking one of the latest engagements between Western navies and the Iran-backed Houthis.
In the video, shared to social media by the French military, sailors can be seen working on the bridge. A surface-to-air missile is then fired from a launcher. A short time later, it intercepts a target in the air.
France is one of several countries working alongside the US Navy to protect international shipping lanes from the Houthis, who have spent months relentlessly firing drones and missiles at vessels sailing off the coast of Yemen.
Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, or CENTCOM, told lawmakers on Thursday that French forces destroyed two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles earlier in the day, likely referencing this incident, which at the time had yet to be confirmed by Paris.
The Houthis started firing anti-ship ballistic missiles at the end of 2023, marking the first time that such weapons have been used in combat. The rebels have since fired these missiles regularly, recently using them to sink their first vessel and stage their first fatal attack — both occurred within the past few weeks.
French Navy photo
Beyond anti-ship ballistic missiles, the Houthis have also launched anti-ship cruise missiles, one-way attack drones, and unmanned surface vehicles, or USVs, which are essentially drone boats packed with explosives.
While the Houthis have not managed to hit US or coalition warships, engagements between the two sides are happening on a near-daily basis.
Alongside the French action on Thursday, for example, German and American forces each destroyed a Houthi drone boat, Kurilla said during testimony to the House Armed Services Committee.
French Navy photo
US forces also routinely conduct preemptive strikes in Yemen, destroying Houthi missiles and drones before the rebels have a chance to launch them into the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden.
Meanwhile, the EU's Operation Aspides — which has now been active for more than a month — said on Wednesday that a French helicopter shot down a Houthi drone that posed a threat to commercial ships.