Summary and Key Points: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood, a former U.S. Army Infantry officer and tech CEO, evaluates the “Goliath vs. David” showdown between the U.S. Navy and Houthi rebels as a precursor to Operation Epic Fury.
-This report analyzes the expenditure of high-cost SM-2, SM-3, and SM-6 interceptors against $20,000 loitering munitions, creating an unsustainable defensive posture.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to the “Blacklions” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213 and a F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the “Golden Warriors” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 fly over the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72), April 11, 2025. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is underway in the Atlantic Ocean completing integrated naval warfighting training. Composite Training Unit Exercise. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
MANCHESTER, Wash. (April 28, 2017) USS Nimitz (CVN 68) transits Puget Sound, past the Seattle skyline enroute to its homeport, Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton. The return to homeport marks the end of an underway along with its Carrier Strike Group 11, having successfully completed its final pre-deployment assessment, Composite Training Unit Exercise, April 21, and is now fully certified to deploy later this year. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Vaughan Dill/Released
-Eastwood explores how the USS Harry S. Truman and USS Carl Vinson strike groups adapted to the “fog of war” in the Red Sea.
-He concludes that as the USS George H.W. Bush joins the 2026 conflict, these asymmetric lessons are critical for surviving Iran’s decentralized drone swarms.
The $4 Million Interceptor Trap: How Houthi Asymmetric Tactics Exhausted the Navy’s Magazine Depth
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists taught the U.S. Navy many lessons about asymmetric warfare. The David versus Goliath showdown created some close calls for American carrier strike groups, and the Houthis expended almost their whole arsenal of kamikaze unmanned craft and anti-ship missiles.
They showed the world that a determined ragtag band of poorly trained and unprofessional combatants could still create situations in which the Navy sometimes struggled.
Asymmetric Warfare At Its Finest: Here Come the Houthis
The Houthis’ cheap-to-produce loitering munitions and modified cruise missiles gave the Navy a run for its money.
Each missile or drone required a U.S. interceptor, which cost between $1 million and $4 million. The SM “Standard Missile” family of interceptors, such as the SM-2, SM-3, and SM-6 were gainfully employed, and it made some wonder if a carrier strike group would have enough munitions to survive a bigger confrontation with Iran or China after sparring with the Houthis.
The USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Carl Vinson strike groups were deployed against the terrorists.
PACIFIC OCEAN (April 26, 2007) – A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) is launched from the Aegis-class guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70), during a joint Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Navy ballistic missile flight test. Approximately three minutes later, the SM-3 intercepted a unitary (non-separating) ballistic missile threat target, launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. Within moments of this launch, the USS Lake Erie also launched a Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) against a hostile air target in order to defend herself. The test was the eighth intercept, in 10 program flight tests. The test was designed to show the capability of the ship and its crew to conduct ballistic missile defense and at the same time defend herself. This test also marks the 27th successful hit-to-kill intercept in tests since 2001. U.S. Navy photo (RELEASED)
This Was No Easy Set of Battles
Defensive operations against the Houthis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden were risky for the Navy.
The operational tempo was high; sailors were at battle stations for long periods, and fatigue set in at times. The Navy’s Aegis Combat System controlled the SM-family well, but there were real chances of a successful hit.
The Houthis also used explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels to strike two merchant ships in 2024, causing fires that killed one crew member.
“The goal is not necessarily to achieve a kill; rather, it is to force the United States and its allies into a continuous, expensive, and unsustainable defensive posture,” according to the Marine Corps Association.
A Potent Mix of Houthi Weapons
The missiles, loitering munitions, and sea drones were not individually better than what the Navy would face against an adversary like China or Russia, but taken in totality, they pushed the Americans to their limits.
A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block 1B interceptor missile is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) during a Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Navy test in the mid-Pacific. The SM-3 Block 1B successfully intercepted a target missile that had been launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands in Kauai, Hawaii. Lake Erie detected and tracked the target with its on board AN/SPY-1 radar. The event was the third consecutive successful intercept test of the SM-3 Block IB missile. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
The Houthis Looked Like They Would Never Quit
For over 15 months, the Navy had to eliminate hundreds of missiles and drones. This was the most intense naval engagement since World War Two.
“A lot of these lessons and everything that we are taking from the Red Sea are an incredibly valuable warm-up for us in the high-end fight,” an active-duty surface warfare officer who spoke with The War Zone on the condition of anonymity said.
This Was a Surprise to the Americans
This battle taught the Navy that the radars could be improved and that individual sailors had to operate around the clock with high levels of skill and professionalism. It was not what most personnel expected on an ordinary deployment to the Middle East.
Don’t Forget Similar Attacks that Could Happen in the Indo-Pacific
“I think it is important that we not be lulled into a sense of complacency by our own success,” he said. “We are fighting a high-end fight against a low-end adversary. The weapons, tactics, and strategic implications of a Pacific war could be quite different and more challenging,” The War Zone interviewee said.
(June 28, 2022) – Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to participate in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, June 28. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Devin M. Langer)
NORFOLK (Nov. 26, 2022) The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) returns to Naval Station Norfolk after completing their inaugural deployment to the Atlantic Ocean with the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG), Nov. 26. The GRFCSG, returned to Naval Station Norfolk following a scheduled deployment with Allies and partners in an effort to build strategic relationships and contribute to a stable and conflict-free Atlantic region, while also showcasing the U.S. Navy’s most advanced class of aircraft carrier. (U.S. Navy Photo/Video by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Nathan T. Beard)
Houthis Made Modern Naval Warfare Look Easy
The Houthis introduced U.S. Naval personnel to the fog of war and friction in combat, both critical principles of warfare that peacetime training could not offer. The Americans learned how to react quickly in risky situations and keep their guard up at all times. This was a breeding ground for better tactics, techniques, and procedures that would prove useful in future warfare with Iran and in a potential conflict with China.
The U.S. Navy Punished the Bandits
The Houthis still control large regions of northern and western Yemen. They have been attritted, though. U.S. air strikes attacked missile launchers, command and control centers, and missile production facilities. But they could be activated by Iran again to menace U.S. and allied shipping.
That Leaves Iran to Make a Decision
Iran is now desperate after the first phase of U.S. and Israeli warfare. The attacking aircraft fleets have established air dominance over the skies of Iran. The Supreme Leader and around 40 of his henchmen were killed at the outset. Iran’s ability to constantly strike with its ballistic missiles has been curtailed. Their navy has been all but eliminated. Tehran needs help, and the Houthis could rise again.
Will the Houthis Try Another Bite of the Apple?
Germany’s DW wrote an interesting analysis on whether the Houthis will try their asymmetric tactics once more. And that would mean more attacks on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.
“If the regime realizes that this is its last stand, it will mobilize all resources and will try to involve all partners in this fight,” Thomas Volk, head of the Middle East and North Africa division at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Volk told DW. “And this includes the Houthis,” he said.
Other Middle East analysts are not so sure. Abdulghani al-Iryani, a senior researcher at the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, is skeptical that the Houthis can engage in a new operation.
“The Houthis will have no role to play in this confrontation because their added value was to cause trouble on behalf of Iran, while giving Iran a margin of deniability,” he explained. “Now that Iran is actually attacking the whole region, basically, there isn’t much added value in Houthi involvement.”
The Houthis would need more time to get spun up and substantial attention, money, and resources from Iran. The political leadership in Tehran has been devastated. It is not clear who is even in charge of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Helping the Houthis may not be on the radar. However, if this war extends into months rather than weeks, then the Houthis could take matters into their own hands and retaliate.
It May Require Yet Another U.S. Aircraft Carrier
If so, this could tie up another carrier strike group in the region, as the earlier missile and drone fight from the Yemeni terrorists could be repeated. And, in fact, we see the USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier heading to the region.
We’ll watch closely to see whether the Houthis will engage again. They could open up a new front in the war or bide their time until the Americans least expect them to act. The terrorists caused much consternation for the Navy, but they allowed the United States to get valuable combat experience from a determined foe. Many lessons have been learned, and the Navy will be better prepared to counteract drones, anti-ship missiles, and unmanned surface craft in the future.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood
Author of now over 3,000 articles on defense issues, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: A Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott, advising the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
