Aden (South24)

The Pentagon plans to spend about $1.2 billion to maintain US ships deployed in the Red Sea and replenish missile stockpiles needed to repel attacks by Iran and its proxies, including the Houthis, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

According to budget documents submitted to Congress on September 6, a large chunk of the money will go toward the unplanned depot maintenance of warships and replenishing stockpiles of Standard Missile-3 Block 1B missiles and AIM-X Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles.

The spending includes $300 million to maintain the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship and ships of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, as well as $16,000 to restock defensive flares against guided missile attacks.

Other budget requests include $276 million for additional Standard Missiles and SM-6 systems, $57.3 million for Tomahawk cruise missiles, and $25 million to increase domestic production of Standard Missiles to support the US’ defensive responses in the region.

The Defense Department will also spend $25 million on JDAM-GPS guidance kits, $7.4 million on Small-Diameter Bombs, $26.4 million to replace RTX Coyote Block 2 drone interceptors used since October 2023 to support the Pentagon’s response to the situation in Israel, and $20 million on additional laser-guided missiles from BAE Systems.

On Friday, the US Central Command announced that it had carried out strikes on 15 Houthi targets in Yemen, targeting the Iranian-backed militia’s offensive military capabilities, in order to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition and merchant vessels, in the Red Sea.

Houthi media reported that US forces had launched 15 airstrikes on sites in Sanaa, Hodeidah, Dhamar, and Al-Bayda.

These strikes came in response to the Houthi attacks on Tuesday targeting two ships, one of which was the British ship Cordelia Moon. On Thursday, the Houthis released a video documenting the British ship being targeted by an unmanned drone boat in the Red Sea, causing a large explosion in the middle of the sea.

#BREAKING

Yemen's #Houthis released footage claiming to target British oil tanker Cordelia Moon in Red Sea#south24 pic.twitter.com/Ak66qZgMyu

— South24 | English (@South24E) October 3, 2024

The Yemeni militia also announced carrying out missile and drone attacks against Israel on Wednesday and Thursday.