Pentagon weapons acquisition official 'shocked' by Yemen capabilities
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The Pentagon's chief weapons buyer tells Axios he is shocked by the firepower of the Yemeni Armed Forces.
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Yemenis raise their machine guns during an anti-US and Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, November 1, 2024 (AP)
The Yemeni Ansar Allah have showcased increasingly advanced weaponry, including missiles with capabilities described as "amazing," according to the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer.
Speaking at an Axios-hosted defense event, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante expressed alarm over the sophistication of these weapons.
Ansar Allah have been employing drones and missiles for over a year to disrupt shipping routes in waters off Yemen as they impose a blockade on the Israeli occupation over its genocide in Gaza and aggression on Lebanon.
"I'm an engineer and a physicist, and I've been around missiles my whole career," LaPlante said at the Future of Defense summit in Washington, DC. "What I've seen of what Ansar Allah has done in the last six months is shocking."
In a recent operation, two US Navy destroyers were attacked while navigating the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the critical waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
According to US Central Command, at least eight drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles, and four anti-ship cruise missiles were intercepted, preventing any injuries or damage to the warships.
US Navy vulnerable
Geopolitical analyst and author Brandon J. Weichart recalls how shortly after, the Americans withdrew their visibly vulnerable aircraft carriers, fearing the destruction of these expensive and exposed ships. Instead, they turned to smaller surface warships like the mentioned destroyers.
The US Navy's surface fleet comes up against considerable hurdles from the relatively less sophisticated YAF, demonstrating gaps in dealing with anti-ship ballistic missiles—weaknesses that may be vital in a possible fight with China.
