After repeated warnings, US and UK forces followed through on threats to retaliate against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels over their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Under cover of darkness, they launched missiles and bombs at targets in Yemen from the air and sea overnight on Friday. Here’s what we know about the weapons and military equipment used by the US and the UK.
The US Navy’s Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) are low-altitude cruise missiles capable of delivering a conventional 1,000-pound warhead hundreds of kilometers.
Launched from surface ships or submarines, Tomahawks fly at subsonic speeds on “evasive” or nonlinear routes that can defeat air defense systems, according to a U.S. Navy fact sheet.
Tomahawks are highly accurate and, as they are guided by GPS, they can change targets or route after launch, depending on needs, the document says.
The “missile is capable of remaining over a target area to respond to emerging targets or, with its onboard camera, provide battle damage information to combat commanders”, the fact sheet further explains.
The US first used Tomahawks in combat in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, against the forces of then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and they have since been used in several other conflicts.
The submarine USS Florida is one of four nuclear-powered guided missile submarines (SSGNs) in the U.S. Navy fleet.
Originally an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine – which carries nuclear warheads – the Florida and its counterparts USS Ohio, USS Michigan and USS Georgia were converted into guided missile submarines between 2005 and 2007, according to a fact sheet from the Navy.
The submarine’s comparatively large size and power allow it to carry 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 50% more than U.S. guided-missile destroyers and nearly four times more than the U.S. Navy’s latest attack submarines.
“SSGNs can quickly deliver a lot of firepower,” Carl Schuster, a former Navy captain and director of operations for the Joint Intelligence Center at U.S. Pacific Command, told CNN in 2021.
“One hundred and fifty-four Tomahawks throw a lot of punches with precision. No US opponent can ignore the threat,” he added.
Even if the Navy could accumulate a greater number of destroyers to launch missiles in even greater numbers, the Ohio-class guided missile submarine, as an autonomous and difficult-to-detect unit, is an ocean in itself in America’s arsenal, he also said in 2021 Bradley Martin, a former Navy captain turned naval researcher at the RAND Corp think tank.
“The SSGN continues to be the platform with the greatest capacity to deploy conventional missile payloads,” said Martin.
The magnitude of this firepower was demonstrated in March 2011, when the USS Florida fired nearly 100 Tomahawks at targets in Libya during Operation Dawn Odyssey. This attack was the first time that SSGNs were used in combat.
The Florida is powered by a nuclear reactor that supplies steam to two turbines, which turn the submarine’s propeller. The Navy considers its range “unlimited”, with its ability to remain submerged limited only by the need to replenish its crew’s food reserves.
The Pentagon said that in addition to the Florida, US surface ships also launched Tomahawks against the Houthis.
The backbone of the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet are the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, with nearly 70 in service.
With a displacement of up to 9,700 tons, the Burke class carries a range of armaments, both defensive and offensive.
The destroyers launch Tomahawk cruise missiles with their vertical launch system (VLS), with each destroyer having 90 to 96 VLS cells, depending on the date of its construction.
The Pentagon has not said which specific destroyers were involved in the attacks in Yemen, but several of these warships have been in the Red Sea over the past two months defending commercial ships against Houthi drone and missile attacks.
Single-pilot and twin-engine jets are a mainstay of the UK air fleet.
Fly at speeds as fast as Mach 1.8 [cerca de 2.200 km/h] and at 55 thousand feet [16,7 quilómetros] altitude, according to a Royal Air Force fact sheet.
Developed by a consortium of defense companies to provide several NATO nations with a multi-role fighter, they are also robust weapons platforms capable of carrying a range of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles as well as precision-guided bombs.
The UK Ministry of Defense said the four involved in the attack on Houthi targets delivered Paveway IV munitions, bombs with 500-pound warheads. [perto de 225 quilos].
The Paveway IV has rear keels that help guide it to the target, based on the directions that the weapon receives through laser markings or GPS coordinates transmitted to it.
The British Typhoons were supported by a Voyager aerial refueling tanker, which allows the jets to fly longer distances. The British Ministry of Defense did not say where the jets took off from. But a video published by Defense Minister Grant Shapps shows a Typhoon taking off at night from a dirt runway.