What to Know About the U.S. Coalition Force in the Red Sea

Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute who specializes in maritime warfare, says that the countries in the coalition have the defense capabilities to intercept Houthi missiles, but the costs of running such a program indefinitely may make things more complicated. The U.S. has already placed two warships, the USS Carney and USS Mason in the Red Sea, which intercepted 14 drone strikes on Saturday. “In terms of the ability to intercept Houthi drones, I think that there is certainly credible capability there, and we've seen that in how the USS Carney has been able to operate over the last few weeks,” says Kaushal. Kaushal says that as the coalition sends more warships to the area over the coming weeks, the severity of the threat will likely decrease. However, he does warn that such a strategy may not be sustainable in the long run.