During his visit to the Middle East next week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will announce the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new international effort deal with Houthi threats, a U.S. military official told The War Zone. That information comes as U.S. and British warships shot down drones the Houthis launched in a wave from Yemen early Saturday morning local time, marking the latest escalation of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The USS Carney downed 14 drones fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen in the Red Sea Saturday.

The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Carney downed 14 drones today, a U.S. military official told The War Zone. The Type-45 destroyer HMS Diamond downed one drone targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea with a Sea Viper missile, U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement. It was the first time the Royal Navy shot down an aerial target in anger since the First Gulf War in 1991 when the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Gloucester destroyed an Iraqi Silkworm missile bound for a U.S. warship.

The two destroyers, which were in constant communications, shot down the drones during a 45-minute attack wave near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the official told us, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details.

While the British say the drones were attacking a merchant ship, the Carney engaged the drones because there were so many at once they were deemed a threat to the ship, the official said.

The official declined to say what weapons the Carney used because the U.S. does not want the Houthis to be able to figure out its munitions stocks.

In a Tweet, CENTCOM stated the drones "were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries. Regional Red Sea partners were alerted to the threat."

Houthi spokesman Yahya Sare'e said today that the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels launched a wave of drones toward Israel, but did not mention either warship.

Today's drone intercepts come a day after the Houthis set two cargo ships in the Red Sea ablaze and threatened a third vessel. Two of the world's largest shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, told us they were temporarily pausing transits into the Red Sea as a result of the Houthi attacks. You can read more about those incidents in our story here.

Austin, who will be visiting the region early next week with Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown, will announce Operation Prosperity Guardian, which will be similar to the existing Task Force 153, the official told us. That's an international effort focusing "on international maritime security and capacity building efforts in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and Gulf of Aden."

The official could not say Saturday how many nations will be involved or exactly what missions they will perform beyond patrolling the Red Sea against Houthi threats.

Shapps on Saturday noted that the Diamond recently arrived in the Red Sea "to bolster international efforts to maintain maritime security" as we previously reported.

“The recent spate of illegal attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security in the Red Sea," Shapps said. "The U.K. remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade.”

“One-sixth of the world's commercial shipping passes through the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea,” said First Sea Lord, Adm. Sir Ben Key in a statement. “HMS Diamond deployed at short notice to the region from Portsmouth just two weeks ago and is already delivering effect together with our American, French and other allies and partners.”

“The Royal Navy is committed to upholding the right to free use of the oceans and we do not tolerate indiscriminate threats or attacks against those going about their lawful business on the high seas,” he added.

While today's incidents mark the first time a U.K. warship downed an aerial threat since 1991, it was at least the third time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war that the Carney has.

On Dec. 3, three missiles fired from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen struck three commercial ships in the Red Sea, CENTCOM said at the time. Carney responded to distress calls from two of those vessels and downed three drones approaching it.

Oct. 19, Carney shot down four land attack cruise missiles and 19 drones, a U.S. official told The War Zone the next day.

As we reported earlier this week, a French warship has also engaged in intercepting Houthi drones. The FREMM Frigate Languedoc, patrolling off the coast of Yemen, shot down a drone threatening a Norwegian-flagged chemical tanker.

While there will be a new task force created next week, whether there will be any direct response against Houthi military targets remains to be seen.

This is a developing story.

British warship shoots down suspected attack drone over Red Sea

A Royal Navy destroyer warship has shot down a suspected attack drone over the Red Sea, the Defence Secretary has said.

The HMS Diamond was only sent to the region two weeks ago amid growing international concern about the threat to shipping.

The Type 45 destroyer was said to have destroyed the suspected attack drone targeting merchant shipping - with a Sea Viper missile.

It is believed to be the first time that the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target in anger since the First Gulf War in 1991.

Grant Shapps said it was believed merchant shipping in the Red Sea was the intended target, in the latest such confrontation in the key global shipping route.

The Red Sea lies between north Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and connects the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.

“One Sea Viper missile fired and successfully destroyed the target”, Mr Shapps said in a statement.

“The ship recently arrived in the region to bolster international efforts to maintain maritime security.

“The recent spate of illegal attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security in the Red Sea.

“The UK remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade.”

The Ministry of Defence has not said who was behind the attack.

But Yemen’s Houthis have been behind a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, as well as launching drones and missiles targeting Israel in response to its war against Hamas in Gaza.

First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key said: “One sixth of the world’s commercial shipping passes through the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea.

“HMS Diamond deployed at short notice to the region from Portsmouth just two weeks ago and is already delivering effect together with our American, French and other allies and partners.

“The Royal Navy is committed to upholding the right to free use of the oceans and we do not tolerate indiscriminate threats or attacks against those going about their lawful business on the high seas.”

Earlier this month the US military said the Bahamas-flagged Unity Explorer, owned by a UK company, was among three commercial vessels targeted in an attack by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

On Friday Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, told all its vessels planning to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea to “pause their journey until further notice” after a missile attack on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship.

U.S. and Britain Say Their Navies Shot Down 15 Attack Drones Over the Red Sea

A U.S. warship shot down 14 suspected attack drones over the Red Sea on Saturday, and a Royal Navy destroyer downed another drone that was targeting commercial ships, the British and American militaries said.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, and have launched drones and missiles targeting Israel, as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to spread.

U.S. Central Command said that the destroyer USS Carney “successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems" launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The drones “were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” Central Command tweeted.

U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said that HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone that was “targeting merchant shipping.” The overnight action is the first time the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target in anger since the 1991 Gulf War.

Shapps said attacks on commercial ships in the global trade artery by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security."

“The U.K. remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade,” he said in a statement.

HMS Diamond was sent to the region two weeks ago as a deterrent, joining vessels from the U.S., France and other countries.

Global shipping has become a target during the war between Israel and Hamas, which like the Houthis is backed by Iran.

Houthi rebels said they fired a barrage of drones on Saturday toward the port city of Eilat in southern Israel. The announcement came hours after Egypt’s state-run media reported that Egyptian air defense had shot down a “flying object” off the Egyptian resort town of Dahab on the Red Sea.

Israeli-linked vessels also have been targeted, but the threat to trade has grown as container ships and oil tankers flagged to countries like Norway and Liberia have been attacked or drawn missile fire while traversing the waterway between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Earlier this month, three commercial ships in the Red Sea were struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen. A U.S. warship shot down three drones during the assault, the U.S. military said.

French container shipping line CMA CGM Group said Saturday it had ordered all its vessels scheduled to pass through the Red Sea to “pause their journey in safe waters with immediate effect until further notice.”

On Friday Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, also told all its vessels planning to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea to stop their journeys after a missile attack on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship. German-based shipper Hapag-Lloyd said it was pausing all its container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday.

Houthis launch more attacks in Red Sea as US warships head to region

American and British warships shot down over a dozen drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Saturday, the latest onslaught against naval vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea by the Iranian-led group.

The Carney, a U.S. destroyer, intercepted 14 “one-way attack drones” according to the U.S. Central Command while the British destroyer HMS Diamond, newly arrived in the region to bolster protection of commercial shipping, also shot down a Houthi drone.

The drone and ballistic missile attacks on commercial and military shipping caused Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, to instruct its vessels on Friday to “pause their journey until further notice” through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.

While the U.S. ships, Carney and fellow destroyer Mason, have been busy intercepting Houthi attacks in recent weeks, three more U.S. Navy destroyers have moved into the Mediterranean Sea over the past week as the U.S. beefs up its presence in the region.

The ships join the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group that has been operating in the Mediterranean since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, a deployment that has already been extended twice.

The Ford has its own two destroyers and cruiser escort and has been at the forefront of an expanding American presence in the region in the wake of Hamas’ attack and the subsequent Houthi ballistic missile and drone intercepts by American, French and British warships.

Over the past week, missile-defense destroyers Laboon, Delbert D. Black and The Sullivans have arrived in the Mediterranean to boost the U.S. presence there. Defense officials would not comment on if the ships are heading to the Red Sea.

In addition to Carney shooting down the drones on Saturday, on Dec. 13 the Mason shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle that U.S. officials said was launched from Yemen, the second time this month the U.S. warship has opened fire.

Just days earlier, the Mason came to the aid of a commercial ship after it was hit by a cruise missile in the Red Sea’s Bab-el-Mandeb strait. The Carney has also intercepted several drones and cruise missiles that U.S. officials said were flying in the vicinity of the ship.

The British HMS Diamond Saturday also destroyed a drone that was “targeting merchant shipping,” according to British Defense Minister Grant Shapps.

Shapps said attacks on commercial ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security."

The increased deployments of ships and Houthi attacks come as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is slated to travel to the Middle East next week, as the Biden administration tries to respond to a spike in Iran-backed attacks on American forces in the region and contain the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Plans call for Austin to huddle with leaders in Bahrain, Qatar and Israel.

American troops in Iraq and Syria have also been targeted by Iranian-backed proxies over 90 times since mid-October, leading to American airstrikes against the groups and their facilities.

At sea, the Biden administration is working to form an international maritime task force to counter the Houthi attacks. The plan appears to be that the planned group would expand an existing coalition of 39 nations, Combined Task Force 153, which is focused on countering piracy and terrorism in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb waterway and Gulf of Aden.

“We are definitely looking to take action here,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters this month. “This is an international problem that requires an international solution.”

The head of the Oslo-based Norwegian Shipowners’ Association that tracks threats to commercial shipping across the globe, Harald Solberg, expressed deep concern over the threat to ships in the Red Sea.

“All attacks on commercial ships in this area, like the attack on the Norwegian product tanker MT Strinda this week, represent a deeply concerning development of the security situation for civilian shipping in the Red Sea,” he said. “Such attacks are serious and unacceptable, and we call upon all actors in the region to quickly de-risk the threat for civilian shipping in the area.”

“It must be a central priority to all governments involved to ensure that the world's most important supply lines are kept open.”

US military leaders press Israel to shift from major combat as Iranian-backed ship attacks escalate

The top two U.S. military leaders are traveling to Tel Aviv to advise the Israeli government on how to transition from major combat operations against Hamas in Gaza to a more limited campaign and prevent a wider regional war. Their trip comes as Iranian-backed militants on Saturday launched a wave of attack drones against ships in the Red Sea and said they would continue until Israel's “aggression” ends.

One of the American warships assigned to the Ford carrier strike group, the destroyer USS Carney, “successfully engaged” 14 one-way attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. Britain reported that a Royal Navy destroyer downed another drone that was targeting commercial ships.

It was the latest in a series of attacks threatening commercial and U.S. Navy ships in the Red Sea that have escalated after Israel intensified its response to the Hamas' strike against Israel on Oct. 7. Israel is stinging from the deadliest attack ever on its homefront and has pledged that its offensive will not cease until Hamas is destroyed.

U.S. defense leaders are hoping to prevent the risk of wider regional conflict, both through a sustained high level of U.S. military presence and by engaging with the Israelis to get them to move beyond the massive bombardment campaign.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown, who are heading to Israel, served in leadership roles as U.S. airpower and ground forces moved from major combat to lower-intensity counterterrorism operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is not clear how deeply their advice from lessons learned will resonate with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Their trip highlights the increased efforts by the Biden administration to convince Israel that it should scale back its offensive, which has flattened much of Gaza's northern region, displaced millions and killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Israel’s push has been complicated by the dense urban population and Hamas' network of tunnels, and the militants are accused of using civilians as “human shields.” The sustained intensity of Israel's campaign has led President Joe Biden to warn that the U.S. ally is losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing."

U.S. officials have been telling Israel for several weeks that its window is closing for concluding major combat operations in Gaza without risking the loss of even more backing.

In a meeting Thursday, Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, urged Netanyahu to shift to more targeted operations by smaller military teams hunting specific high-value targets, rather than the sustained broad bombardment that has occurred so far. In response, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his country would continue major combat operations against Hamas for several more months.

There are implications for the tens of thousands of U.S. service members deployed in the region.

Austin on Friday extended the deployment once more of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and a second warship in order to retain a two-carrier presence in the Mediterranean Sea. The ships are seen as vital to deter Iran from widening the Israel-Hamas war into a regional conflict. The approximately 5,000 sailors aboard the Ford were originally due home in early November.

There are 19 U.S. warships in the region, including seven in the eastern Mediterranean. A dozen more stretched down the Red Sea, across the Arabian Sea and up into the Persian Gulf.

The missile and drone attacks have led at least two major shipping companies, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk, to order their commercial vessels to temporarily pause transits through the strait.

"This is a worldwide problem that affects Israel, too,” Gallant said the Houthis blocking shipping in the Red Sea. “We are ready to act. We know what to do. And we will find the right timing to act. We are giving a chance, in the maritime issue, to the international system. If we reach a situation where we are the final option, we will know what to do,” he said about a possible military response.

Mohammed Abdel-Salam, the Houthis’ chief negotiator and spokesman, wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that the Houthis would keep targeting Israel-linked vessels “until the aggression stops; the siege on Gaza is lifted; and humanitarian aid continues to flow into the Strip.”

Austin is expected also to visit Bahrain and Qatar and further work toward establishing a new maritime mission to provide increased security for commercial ships sailing in the southern Red Sea. Bahrain is the home of the U.S. Navy’s Central Command headquarters and the international maritime task force charged with ensuring safe passage for vessels in the region.

Qatar has been vital in helping keep what has been a deadly localized war from boiling over into a regional conflict and negotiating hostage release.

Earlier in his Army career, Austin oversaw the drawdown of forces in Iraq in 2011. He visited Israel days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and has spoken to Gallant, his Israeli counterpart, more than two dozen times since then.

In his meetings in Israel, he is likely to continue discussions on how Israelis define different military campaign milestones, to be able to assess when they will have sufficiently degraded Hamas to ensure their own security and shift from major combat operations, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters traveling with Austin.