Yemen’s strikes ‘drained’ US Navy’s munitions: Report

An American military news publication says Yemen’s retaliatory operations have “drained” the stockpile of munitions of the US Navy, as it has fired more missiles in the past 15 months than in the last three decades combined.

Citing retired Navy Cmdr. Bryan Clark, of the Hudson Institute, Task & Purpose reported that the number of missiles fired by the navy in the Red Sea since Yemen began its pro-Gaza operations in October 2023 exceeds the total used in all the years since Operation Desert Storm in the 1990s.

Clark confirmed that the navy saw the most combat at sea since World War II over the 15-month-period, which ran from October 19, 2023 to January 19, 2025.

“It’s kind of amazing how the Navy has held up with no losses, but the cost has been pretty enormous,” Clark said, adding, “The estimates are the Navy has used up $1 billion-plus worth of interceptors to shoot down these drone and missile threats.”

He stressed that the navy will need years to replenish its supply of missiles, noting that if the United States and China were to engage in a war today, the service would be in a bad position.

During his confirmation hearing to serve as navy secretary, John Phelan acknowledged that the navy faces a shortage of munitions.

“So, if confirmed, I intend to focus on this very quickly and get that resolved because I think we’re at a dangerously low level from a stockpile perspective, and as well as new,” Phelan said at the hearing late in February.

In January, the navy revealed that it had used about 400 munitions since October 2023 as part of attacks in the Red Sea, including 120 SM-2 missiles, 80 SM-6 missiles, and a combined total of 20 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) and SM-3 missiles.

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According to Task & Purpose, the navy turned to the 5-inch gun rounds, which are less expensive than missiles, to down drones, amid munitions depletion.

“They have been using guns to shoot down drones lately, especially the Hypervelocity Projectile,” Clark said.

After the onset of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, Yemeni forces carried out scores of operations in support of the war-hit Gazans, striking targets throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, in addition to targeting Israeli ships or vessels heading towards ports in the occupied territories.

In support of Israel, the US announced the formation of a maritime task force in the Red Sea in December 2023 to protect the passage of vessels bound for the Israeli-occupied territories.

The Yemeni forces responded by ramping up their strikes against strategic and sensitive Israeli and American targets, including the US warships and aircraft carriers that are deployed off Yemen’s coastline.

The Yemeni forces paused their retaliatory strikes in support of the ceasefire that took hold in Gaza on January 19.

The deal between Israel and Hamas was reached after 15 months of the regime's genocidal war on the strip, which claimed the lives of at least 48,446 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The regime approved the ceasefire after falling short of realizing any of its wartime objectives, including freeing the captives, “eliminating” the Gazan resistance, and causing forced displacement of Gaza’s entire population to neighboring Egypt.

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