AT SEA – FEBRUARY 21: A missile is launched from the Sa’ar 6-class corvette during the series of … [+]
The powerful Houthi militia group in Yemen has repeatedly targeted southern Israel with long-range munitions since the ongoing Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. Israeli air defenses and a U.S. Navy destroyer separately intercepted two of the most significant known attacks launched to date, on Oct. 31 and Oct. 19, respectively.
If these attacks persist, which is a strong possibility so long as the Gaza war continues, Israel may feel compelled to deploy its new Sa’ar 6-class corvettes to the Red Sea to combat the multitude of air and seaborne threats the Houthis could pose.
The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it intercepted a long-range ballistic missile and two cruise missiles launched by the Houthis from the southern Red Sea.
Israel’s Arrow anti-ballistic missile defense system, which forms the top-tier of Israel’s dense, multi-layered air defenses, intercepted the ballistic missile, and Israeli fighter jets downed the cruise missiles, according to preliminary reportage citing the Israel Defense Forces.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack and confirmed that it was in response to the ongoing Gaza war. The IDF claimed all the missiles “were intercepted outside of Israeli territory and no entry to Israeli territory was identified.”
The attack came 12 days after a U.S. Navy destroyer intercepted missiles and drones launched from Yemen toward Israel on Oct. 19.
The USS Carney in the Red Sea intercepted four cruise missiles and 15 drones launched by the powerful Houthi militia in Yemen over a 9-hour period. American officials later confirmed these munitions were undoubtedly targeting Israel.
Both attacks demonstrated the potential threat Israel’s southern flank, particularly the port and resort city Eilat in the Negev Desert’s Red Sea coast near Jordan, faces from the Houthi group in that peninsular Arab country.
However, this potential threat was already evident before these two unprecedented attacks.
The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson warned in December 2020 that Iran was helping its proxies in Iraq and Yemen to develop drones, “smart missiles,” and other long-range munitions capable of reaching Israel from those countries.
The following month, Israel even deployed land-based Iron Dome and MIM-104 Patriot air defense batteries to Eilat in case the Houthis targeted the area on the first anniversary of the U.S. assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.
During this period, the Israeli Navy gradually introduced three of the four 2,000-ton Sa’ar 6-class corvettes built in Germany with Israeli media reporting that three were fully operational with the fourth and final “very close” as of April.
AT SEA – FEBRUARY 21: A missile is launched from the Sa’ar 6-class corvette during the series of … [+]
These ships are outfitted with powerful Israeli sensors, along with Gabriel anti-ship missiles along with the C-Dome naval variant of the famous Iron Dome air defense system complimented by Barak 8 surface-to-air missiles capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. A land-based Barak 8 operated by Azerbaijan reportedly intercepted a Russian-built 9K720 Iskander short-range ballistic missile fired by Armenia during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020.
The Sa’ar 6 primary intended mission is to provide maritime protection for Israel’s exclusive economic zone, including natural gas platforms, in the East Mediterranean, particularly against the powerful Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Their capabilities suggest they could play a similar role in the Red Sea, where they could potentially provide greater defensive depth to Israel’s southern flank by intercepting drones and missiles some distance away from Israel. They could also potentially combat seaborne threats the Houthis may pose, using long-range crewed or remotely-piloted fast craft.
Before the latest attack, Yemen’s prime minister warned that “Israeli ships in the Red Sea will be targeted” if Israel continues targeting Gaza. If the Houthis decide to target or hijack merchant Israeli ships in that strategic maritime corridor, Israel may feel compelled to provide naval escorts to keep shipping lanes open.
Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and expert on naval operations, is skeptical Israel will deploy these naval assets to the Red Sea.
“I think the Israeli Navy will keep the Sa’ars closer to home to protect Israel’s coast against threats, fast attack boats, etc,” he told me.
The corvette made its combat debut attacking Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war in mid-October. An advanced radar on a Sa’ar 6 vessel previously tracked an incoming Iranian drone in March 2021, which an Israeli Air Force F-35 stealth fighter successfully intercepted, demonstrating the connectivity and coordination between different branches of the armed forces.
Even though these corvettes have been outfitted with an impressive array of advanced Israeli-developed sensors and missiles, Clark does not believe they are ideally suited for combating long-range threats from the Houthis.
“The Houthi attacks will be hard to respond to from sea, and the naval version of Iron Dome is designed for self-defense or protecting a nearby ship,” he said.
Nevertheless, Clark anticipates the corvettes being “very effective against asymmetric threats like suicide boats” since “they are themselves fast and have a range of guided automatic guns.”