U.S. strikes on the Houthis have been going on for the third day. This is not the first campaign against these rebels, but this time it is being conducted using more flexible tactics, the Pentagon said.
The forces and means used against the Houthis are similar to those used before. This time, however, top-down goal setting was abandoned and the initiative was entrusted to “lower-level commanders”. This allows them to make decisions about hitting targets detected during combat flights (target opportunity), react to the changing situation and manage the experience gained on the spot.
Thanks to this approach, it was possible, m.in, to destroy the local unmanned aerial vehicle factory, where its owners and at least some of the engineering staff were supposed to be. The Americans see this as a blow to the Houthis’s ability to conduct attacks on shipping. And it is precisely the curtailment of strikes on the trade route south and west of the Arabian Peninsula that is the goal of the mission commissioned this time by President Donald Trump, and not by Joe Biden, as previously in January.
CENTCOM Forces Launch Large Scale Operation Against Iran-Backed Houthis in Yemen
On March 15, U.S. Central Command initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and… pic.twitter.com/u5yx8WneoG
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 15, 2025
Photos and videos published by the U.S. Navy show that the F-18 family of aircraft: F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EF-18G Growler are primarily involved in the attacks.
Precision weapons have been observed under their wings, including AGM-88E AARGM anti-radiation missiles, AGM-154 JSOW glide bombs, JDAM precision bombs and AGM-84H SLAM-ER cruise missiles. In addition, it was reported that the missile cruiser Gettysburg fired at enemy positions with Tomahawk missiles.
The Houthis were to respond to the American campaign with two attacks, in which they launched a total of one ballistic missile and 11 drones (according to other accounts, 18 ballistic missiles and one drone, but this was probably an incorrect message).
The ballistic missile fell about 160 km from the group of American ships, which the Pentagon comments as “gross incompetence” and wonders what the purpose of this missile was really supposed to be. Drones, on the other hand, have been eliminated by American fighter jets.
The operation has an interesting dimension when it comes to the international situation. This time, the Americans struck alone, despite the fact that they had previously received support usually from British Eurofighter Typhoons stationed in Cyprus. In the Red Sea, the attacks were also supported by individual European ships – mainly British and French frigates.
This assistance may not have been crucial, but it gave the attacks the character of an international operation against terrorism. Now the US is acting alone, although it is not known whether this is on the American or European initiative.
Russia, in turn, is pressuring the United States to “limit” attacks on the Houthis. The pretext is, of course, to limit the bloodshed (the Russians, as we know, are a very “humanitarian” nation), but it is impossible not to notice that at this point Moscow openly supports global terrorism and piracy.
The operation, at least so far, did not involve firing at Iranian vessels. Several of them are located in the Yemen region and the Americans have expressed their suspicions loudly that they are used to coordinate missile attacks on their fleet and shipping.
There was even information about the sinking of the modern Iranian reconnaissance ship “Zargos”, but later it turned out to be fake news.