Watch British warship HMS Richmond fire two Houthi drones with Sea Ceptor missiles after ‘large-scale’ rebel attack

The British warship HMS Richmond destroyed two Houthi attack drones last night with powerful Sea Ceptor missiles.

Minister of Defence Grant Shapps announced the successful response to yet another rebel attack.

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Fifteen drones fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden were shot down by the US and its allies this morningauthorities said.

US Central Command said it had responded to a “large-scale” attack involving unmanned aerial vehicles that “posed an immediate threat to merchant vessels,” US Navy and coalition ships in the region”.

It added that its Navy ships and aircraft, along with “several coalition Navy ships and aircraft”, shot down 15 drones.

The British warship HMS Richmond downed two of the attack drones, according to the British Defense Secretary.

Mr Shapps said this afternoon: “Last night HMS Richmond used its Sea Ceptor missiles to shoot down two attack drones – successfully repelling another illegal attack by the Iran-backed Houthis.

“The UK and our allies will continue to take the necessary action to save lives and protect freedom of navigation.”

Sea Ceptor missiles can protect an area the size of Greater Manchester: 500 square miles, according to the Royal Navy.

The US combatant command said the Houthi attack was carried out between 4am and 6.30am Sanaa time, or between 1am and 3.30am UK time.

Houthi rebels today claimed they have launched one of their largest attacks on US shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

They said they sent 37 drones to attack US Navy warships and a commercial vessel, the Singapore-flagged Propel Fortune, and called their mission a success – but provided no evidence.

The Danish frigate Iver Huitfeldt also helped repel the attacks, shooting down four Houthi drones in the Red Sea on Friday evening.

The commander of the Iver Huitfeldt, Captain Sune Lund, said: “Just after four o’clock local time, we recognized a drone heading towards Iver Huitfeldt and the surrounding ships.

‘After we were sure it was an enemy, we attacked and defeated it. Over the next hour this happened three more times,’ The guard reports.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been repeatedly launched strikes on international commercial shipping in the Red Sea since mid-November, allegedly in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Several shipping companies have been forced to divert their ships transiting the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to a longer alternative route around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

And such changes have led to major delays and have consequences for companies, among others Suzuki, Tesla, BP, Shell, Qatar Energy,DHL, FedExAdidas, Marks & Spencer, Next one, Primark, Sainsbury’sAnd Goal.

The price of global shipping containers increased by more than 300 percent between November and January.

Britain and the US have launched joint airstrikes against the Houthis in recent weeks in an attempt to stop their attacks on shipping.

Britain sent HMS Richmond to the Red Sea in January to investigate the Royal Navy presence in the region as Houthi rebels refused to loosen their grip on one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

The Type 23 frigate took off from Plymouth armed with 32 Sea Captor missiles and a Wildcat helicopter.

HMS Richmond was sent to join the destroyer HMS Diamond, the frigate HMS Lancaster, a squadron of three mine hunting ships HMS Bangor, HMS Chiddingfold and HMS Middleton and the support ship RFA Cardigan Bay.

A defense source told The Sun at the time that HMS Richmond would allow other ships to rotate through ports without altering the Royal Navy’s presence.

Days later, British and American warships shot down a barrage of eighteen drones and three missiles fired into the Red Sea by the rebels.

The coordinated blitz, where Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond and US warships followed another Houthi attack.

The US Central Command said the “complex attack” involved the transport of bombs dronesanti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile.

It said 18 drones, two cruise missiles and the anti-ship missile were shot down by F-18s from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the US Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the USS Gravely, the USS Laboon and the USS Mason, as well as the British destroyers. HMS Diamond.

HMS Diamond shot down seven of the eighteen drones sky.

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