U.S. Air Campaign Against Houthis Continues Into Third Day
The U.S. military is striking Houthi targets in Yemen for the third day in a row, a top U.S. general told reporters, including from The War Zone, on Monday. The large-scale strikes, ordered by President Donald Trump, began Saturday and have killed 'dozens' of militants and hit headquarters, command and control nodes, weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, and drone operations infrastructure.
'Today, the operation continues, and it will continue in the coming days until we achieve the President's objectives,' Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said during an afternoon media briefing. He added that among Houthis killed were several drone technicians.
'The initial wave of strikes hit over 30 targets at multiple locations, degrading a variety of Houthi capabilities,' Grynkewich added. 'These included terrorist training sites, unmanned aerial vehicle infrastructure, weapons manufacturing capabilities and weapons storage facilities. It also included a number of command and control centers, including a terrorist compound where we know several senior unmanned aerial vehicle experts were located. On Sunday, strike operations continued against additional headquarters locations, weapon storage facilities, as well as detection capabilities that have been used to threaten maritime shipping in the past.'
Despite Houthi claims that about 50 civilians were killed, Grykewich said there was no indication of any civilian casualties.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the operation is designed to have a limited duration.
'The operations have only been going on for 48 hours, and the President and Secretary have been very clear on this that the Houthis can determine when this ends, and until then, the campaign will be unrelenting,' he said. The desired end state, he added, is that shipping lanes are free from Houthi attacks.
Parnell did not completely rule out ground operations against the Houthis.
'It's very difficult, if not impossible, for us to talk about force posture from this podium, because as a commander who's been on the battlefield, it's very, very important to keep the enemy guessing, keep your adversaries guessing,' he suggested. 'Now that's not to say that we've got ground troops in Yemen. That's not to say that we're sending ground troops in. But it's difficult to talk about that stuff for operational security reasons from the podium.'
He added that there are alternatives to U.S. troops on the ground to conduct sensitive site exploitation to determine the level of battle damage.
Trump on Saturday said he ordered the U.S. military 'to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones.' The order followed Houthi statements that the group would resume attacking Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea region, a campaign it paused in the wake of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
This latest campaign was spurred by the Houthis saying they would resume attacks on Israeli-linked ships over the blockcade of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The Houthi shipping attacks began in November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians over the latest war between Israel and Gaza. They have forced ships to avoid the Suez Canal for a far longer route around Africa, boosting cargo costs by nearly $200 billion. The Houthis' attacks sank two vessels, damaged many others, caused the death of four mariners, and led to many being held hostage after a ship was seized. There were also a lot of Houthi weapons that missed their targets entirely. In addition to attacking shipping, the Houthis have also fired missiles and drones at Israel. You can read more about the Houthis' arsenal in our deep dive here.
'Houthi terrorists have launched missiles and one-way attack drones at U.S. warships over 170 times, and at commercial vessels 145 times since 2003,' Parnell pointed out.
There have been nearly constant military engagements with the U.S. and its allies since the Houthis began their Red Sea campaign. That has included air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen ordered by former President Joe Biden.
It should be noted that the Israelis too have launched attacks on the Houthis, taking out ports and energy infrastructure in Sana'a and Hodeidah, among other targets.
As we previously reported, the Houthis have continued their attacks despite the U.S. strikes, which Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say were not sufficient.
The current U.S. campaign is wider in scope and gives local commanders greater authority to act, Grynkewich explained.
There is a 'much broader set of targets that will be able to action in this case,' he stated. He added that 'there was a unmanned aerial vehicle facility that was struck with several key leaders. Those were individuals who led their unmanned aerial vehicle enterprise, and were some of the technical experts in there. So big those types of individuals that we might be targeting as part of the command and control.'
'The other key difference is the delegation of authorities from the president through Secretary down to the operational commander, so that allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis.'
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) posted several images and videos of the attacks, which included U.S. Navy air and sea assets from the Truman Carrier Strike Group and U.S. Air Force fighters launched from bases in the region.
CENTCOM forces continue operations against Iran-backed Houthi terrorists… pic.twitter.com/zEWykoDKQR
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 17, 2025
CENTCOM operations against Iran-backed Houthis continue… pic.twitter.com/DYvc3gREN8
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 15, 2025
CENTCOM Forces Launch Large Scale Operation Against Iran-Backed Houthis in YemenOn 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
Defense analyst Guy Plopsky noted that the loadouts for the F/A-18E/Fs Super Hornets launched from the Truman included AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOW) while an F/A-18E on the deck were armed with AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile–Expanded Response munitions, better known as SLAM-ER. JDAMs were also seen equipping the Super Hornets and AGM-88Es the Growlers in recent days.
1/ Aside from the launch of F/A-18E/Fs armed with JSOW C/C-1s, the video also shows F/A-18Es armed with SLAM-ER ATAs parked on the fligh deck. https://t.co/3TC4kKIn17 pic.twitter.com/OqQBbRrYGY
— Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) March 16, 2025
The U.S. Navy released a video of the Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg launching Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise missiles at Houthi targets in Yemen.
USS Gettysburg (CG 64) delivered lethal precision March 15 on Houthi targets in Yemen. America's Navy is ready and fully committed to defending freedom of navigation around the world. #NavyReady pic.twitter.com/GNqPEaZgtj
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) March 16, 2025
In response to the U.S. attacks, the Houthis claimed they fired 18 ballistic and a drone at the Truman CSG in two separate attacks 'thwarting a hostile attack the enemy was preparing to launch against our country.' However, a U.S. official told ABC News that the Houthis 'fired 11 drones and one ballistic missile, none of which came close to hitting any U.S. vessels.'
'All drones were downed by fighters — 10 shot down by Air Force planes and one by Navy planes — while the ballistic missile was not intercepted as it fell far short of the vessels,' ABC reported, citing the official.
'Quite frankly, it's hard to tell' what the Houthis were targeting, Grynkewich said, 'because while we're executing precision strikes, they missed by over 100 miles. I would question anything that they claim to the press that they're doing or not doing. It's very hard to tell what they are just based on their level of incompetence that they've demonstrated. There's also been a number of other attempts to interdict vessels in the Red Seas and UAVs and some cruise missiles as well. All of those have been easily defeated by our fighter aircraft.'
Russian Foreign Ministery Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, is urging the U.S. to curtail the attacks.
'In response to the American representative's arguments, Sergei Lavrov stressed the need for an immediate cessation of the use of force and the importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue in order to find a solution that would prevent further bloodshed,' the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.
Lavrov to Rubio: Halt U.S. military action against Houthis immediately. pic.twitter.com/FRoDmPRz19
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 17, 2025
As we have reported in the past, a senior U.S. official told The War Zone that the U.S. military is unsure of how many weapons the Houthis possess or where they came from.
While the extent of the Houthi weapons stocks is unknown, 'we do think that they do a lot of production in-house,' the official told us. 'Our assessment right now is that there's likely some key components and other things that come from Iran or other places, but a lot of the actual production is in Yemen.' The official declined to say what components the Houthis have procured.
Earlier on Monday, Trump hinted that Iran may be in the crosshairs as well. The government in Tehran has been the Houthis' biggest benefactor, providing weapons and technical assistance to the militant group.
'Let nobody be fooled!' Trump stated on his Truth Social network. 'The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN. Any further attack or retaliation by the 'Houthis' will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.'
Iran is 'dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, 'Intelligence,'' Trump stated. 'Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!'
The U.S. president was pushing back on claims made by Tehran that the Houthis are an independent organization acting on its own.
After U.S. strikes on the Houthis, the IRGC chief, fearing Iran is next, insists, 'The Yemenis are an independent nation… Ansarullah makes its own strategic decisions, and Iran has no role in their policies.' pic.twitter.com/K2WOwHAlN2
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 16, 2025
At the press briefing, Grynkewich was asked about the status of the Behshad, an Iranian cargo vessel anchored in the Red Sea reported to serve as an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps forward-operating and reconnaissance base. This is a vessel we have written about in the past.
'We know that the Iranians provided a variety of assistance to the Houthis over the years, including some suspected intelligence,' he noted. 'We do know that some had previously come from the Behshad. The Behshad is not currently being used for those operations, but we do know that other vessels are contemplated for those sorts of operations, so we're watching very closely to see if they return to the [area of operations].'
The Iranian spy ship BEHSHAD hasn't been spotted since April 19th 2024 pic.twitter.com/P5wQSVbKN5
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 16, 2025
Past U.S. and allied actions have failed to stop the Houthis from conducting attacks against shipping or Israel. The coming days may give some indication of whether this new approach works.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
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