Operation Prosperity Guardian - Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb narrows and Gulf of Aden

[jbryce1437]

A British warship has shot down a suspected attack drone in the Red Sea, the defence secretary has said.

HMS Diamond, a Type 45 Destroyer, successfully destroyed the target on Saturday, Grant Shapps said.

The Ministry of Defence said it was the first time in decades the Royal Navy had shot an aerial target in anger.

The MoD did not say who was behind the incident, but Yemen's Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for recent attacks in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted foreign ships in the area since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. They have declared support for Hamas and have said they were targeting ships travelling to Israel.

Merchant shipping was believed to be the drone's intended target in Saturday's incident, the defence secretary said.

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

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67738032

[Pelican]

Diamond joins new international Red Sea mission to safeguard shipping

HMS Diamond has joined an international naval force on a dedicated mission to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea.
Just three days after the Portsmouth-based destroyer downed a drone fired at merchant shipping, Diamond has been assigned to the new Operation Prosperity Guardian, an international effort involving the USA, UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

Led by Combined Maritime Forces’ Combined Task Force 153 – which is responsible for security in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb narrows and Gulf of Aden – the operation has been established to ensure the free-flow of shipping through one of the world’s most important sea lanes.

That shipping has come under attack repeatedly in recent weeks with drones fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen – with US, French and British warships all called upon to take out the threats with air defence missiles.

Continues at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... task-force

Also see Gov. MOD press realease:
HMS Diamond joins new international task force to protect shipping in the Red Sea
Royal Navy Destroyer HMS Diamond joins Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new international task force to protect merchant shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
At - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hms- ... he-red-sea

[Pelican]

Tweet From: Intelschizo

19DEC2023 correctional updated map of warships operating in Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea.

Corrections: Per Indian Navy INS Kochi (D-64) is following MV Ruen not INS Mormugao (D-67)

FS Champlain (A-623) and FS Floreal Class Frigate are operating in Indian Ocean.

INS Mormugao (D-67) has returned home and removed from the map

Updates:

One of the 18 sailors on board the hijacked MV Ruen a sailor from was injured and needing medical aid. INS Kochi (D-64) was able to negotiate his release and a group of Marine Commandos where allowed to board the hijacked ship and get the injured sailor transfered to INS Kochi (D-64) the injured sailor is now being taken to a shore based hospital for further medical treatment.

INS Kolkata (D-63) is also operating in the Gulf of Aden.

ESPS Victoria (F-82) is continuing to follow the hijacked MV Ruen yet to be rescued from pirates.

Ike CSG is operating just outside the BAM.

45th Chinese Naval Escort Task Force has left Djibouti Port.

Bataan ARG is in the South Red Sea.

USS Laboon (DDG-58) sailing south in the Red Sea.

Naval chiefs of several countries with stakes in the strategic Indian Ocean region on Tuesday kicked off the start to a 4 day conference Bangkok Thailand called The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) where they will discuss ways to step up maritime cooperation, address challenges and strengthen maritime security architecture. IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to enhance maritime cooperation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean region. The IONS grouping consists of 25 member countries and eight observers.

IONS consists of the following countries


Observer States


So keep an eye over the coming days on developments from IONS which could come up with its own operations separate to Operation Prosperity Guardian

Does not include all ships under Combined Maritime Force such as CTF 150, CTF 151, CTF 152, CTF 153, Updated all sources used

[Pelican]

"The majority of ships in the Mediterranean the West and the Indian Ocean have changed their course and are now heading south towards the Cape, suggesting a large-scale shift in maritime traffic."

[Pelican]

Tweet From: OSINTdefender

According to multiple U.S. Officials, Preparations are now underway for a Military Operation against the Houthi Terrorist Group in Yemen by the United States and other Countries involved with Operation Prosperity Guardian, with the Goal of the Operation being the Total Destruction of the Houthi’s Capability to launch further Attacks on Commercial Shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

[If carried out Iran will not be best pleased and their reaction will be interesting.]

[Pelican]

Guns, missiles and drones – naval actions in the Red Sea

HMS Diamond has now been formally allocated to US-led operation Prosperity Guardian which will protect merchant ships transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Here we look at the recent naval operations and consider the current situation in the region.

Warships assemble
Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) are based in Bahrain under the command of a US Navy Vice Admiral with an RN Commodore (Currently Cdre Phil Dennis) acting as his deputy. One of the 5 task forces operated by CMF is Combined Task Force 153 (CTF 153) which is responsible for the Red Sea area and will run Operation Prosperity Guardian. It is not yet clear precisely how this will function, the protection of commercial vessels is not a simple task but can be achieved in two main ways. This can either be by grouping vessels into a convoy surrounded by warships or by creating a safe Maritime Security Transit Corridor (MSTC) with warships on independent patrols responsible for sanitising the corridor. The latter is more likely as convoys are cumbersome to assemble and cause delays while modern sensors and weapons can cover a much wider area than their historical counterparts.

Warships from around the globe are being allocated to this mission, given that the free movement of shipping so critical to the world’s economy. This is a lesson that is repeatedly learned and then quickly forgotten by politicians and media when shipping returns to normal. HMS Diamond is in the Red Sea and HMS Lancaster has been in the Gulf of Aden for some time. US destroyers USS Carney, Mason and Thomas Hudner are likely to be joined by reinforcements with USS Laboon, Delbert D. Black and The Sullivans now on their way through the Mediterranean. Also in the region are FS Langaudoc (France), ESPS, Victoria (Spain), JDS Akebono (Japan) and ROKS Yang Man-Chun (South Korea). Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada and Germany are also preparing to send warships. As a nation that has benefited enormously from the free flow of seaborne trade, in large part enabled by Western navies and UNCLOS rules, China also has a stake in keeping the Red Sea traffic flowing. There is a Chinese destroyer and 2 frigates based in Djibouti but they are unlikely to join a US-led coalition.

HMS Duncan is believed to be heading home on completion of her extended Mediterranean mission. Presumably, she was not needed to escort the LRG(S), RFA Argus and RFA Lyme Bay on the proposed humanitarian aid mission to Gaza. This was likely scrubbed as being too risky and impractical and it will be interesting to see if LRG proceeds through the Suez Canal as originally planned. HMS Dauntless has returned from her Caribbean deployment and the Power Improvement Project (engine upgrade) was proven a success but she will have to be dry docked for a Fleet Time Support Period as other work has to be done. HMS Somerset has become the first RN surface ship to carry land-attack missiles. Although primarily an anti-ship system, Initial Operating Capability with the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) has been declared after she was finally fitted with the missile canisters at Haakonsvern naval base in Norway. She will conduct live firing and Fleet Weapons Acceptance trials in the new year.

Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/guns-missil ... e-red-sea/

[Pelican]

British warship joins effort to protect merchant ships

HMS Diamond, a Type 45 Destroyer, has joined Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new international task force to protect merchant shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Alongside HMS Diamond, the task force currently includes three US destroyers, and a French warship is also in the region.

See - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british ... ant-ships/

[Pelican]

HMS LANCASTER

Potential spot of the HMS Lancaster as she appears to be escorting commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden heading towards the Arabian Sea. From 20 Dec 2023 courtesy of Sentinel 2.

[Pelican]

Tweet from: Global: Military-Info

According to U.S. officials to Bloomberg, the U.S. and its allies are considering conducting military strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. The strikes would focus on crippling their ability to target commercial ships.
Heavy strike options will be presented to the President.
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The U.S. and its allies are amassing a significate naval force in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
This would include the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, coalition and support vessels. There is a possibility that additional destroyers are heading to the region too.
I don't rule out the presence of a submarine.
This doesn't include USAF assets located in the region.
If a strike does occur, I expect it to be heavy and overwhelming.

[Pelican]

Tweets

Sir Humphrey
Have we seen a nation without a credible navy (Iran), using proxy actors exercise effective sea denial to the extent of changing global trade patterns?
Can sea power fix this?

Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping)
Every containership over 8,000TEUs, except for one, have turned from the Bab el-Mandeb.
This means that all the major ocean container lines have abandoned the region even after the
DeptofDefense and CENTCOM have announced Op Prosperity Guardian.