Arleigh Burke-Class guided missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), fires its MK 45 -5-inch 54 Caliber Gun during an integrated live-fire event, March 30, 2023. McFaul, as part of the Ford Carrier Strike Group, is underway in the Atlantic Ocean completing its Composite Training Units Exercise (COMPTUEX), an intense, multi-week exercise designed to fully integrate a carrier strike group as a cohesive, multi-mission fighting force and to test their ability to carry out sustained combat operations from the sea. (Tyler Thompson/Navy)
WASHINGTON – The guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner that shot down a drone launched from Yemen over the Red Sea this week was not the intended target, the Pentagon said Thursday.
“Our assessment right now is that the intended target was not the Hudner but that the drone got so close to the crew that the commander did feel it necessary to engage and shoot down the drone,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters.
It is unclear who is responsible for launching the drone. Earlier this week, the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen threatened to attack ships in the Red Sea.
This was the second intercept by a U.S. Navy vessel since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Last month, the USS Carney shot down several drones and missiles fired by Houthi forces in the direction of Israel.
Last week the Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Red Sea.
The U.S. has sent an additional 1,200 troops to the Middle East in recent weeks along with two aircraft carrier strike groups and more aircraft to support Israel in its fight against Hamas and deter chances the conflict will expand in the region.
