The crew of the USS Carney, a guided missile destroyer, shot down three land attack cruise missiles and several drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen — in a potential widening of instability in the Middle East, initiated by actors backed by Iran.
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed that the Carney was operating in the northern Red Sea when it shot down the cruise missiles and drones, and called it a “demonstration” of American capabilities and willingness to protect partners and interests in the region.
“This action was a demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture that we have built in the Middle East, and that we are prepared to utilize whenever necessary to protect our partners and our interests in this important region,” Ryder said at a press conference Thursday.
