Navy destroyer shoots down drone launched from Yemen, Pentagon says

A U.S. Navy warship shot down an Iranian-made drone launched from Yemen on Wednesday, the same day the Pentagon said it warned Tehran over its drone use in the region. 

While in the South Red Sea, the Arleigh-Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer USS Carney shot down an Iranian-made KAS-04 drone launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen at approximately 11:00 a.m. local time, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.  

“Although its intentions are not known, the UAV was heading toward the warship,” CENTCOM notes.

At the time of the shootdown, the Carney was escorting the USNS Supply, a Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship, and another U.S. flagged and crewed ship carrying military equipment to the region.  

There were no injuries to U.S. personnel and no damage to U.S. vessels, according to CENTCOM.  

The incident comes as the U.S. military warned Iran over an “unsafe and unprofessional” drone maneuver near the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group on Tuesday. 

Washington accused Tehran of flying the drone within 1,500 feet of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group as it was conducting routine flight operations in the Central Arabian Gulf.  

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command head Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said the drone “violated safety precautions” by not keeping more than 10 nautical miles from the vessel. 

Exactly one week ago the USS Thomas Hudner, also a Navy destroyer, shot down multiple one-way attack drones in the Red Sea. 

The U.S. Navy has increased the number of its ships stationed in the Middle East following the start of the Israel-Hamas war Oct. 7, a conflict which has caused tensions to soar in the region and threatened to escalate into a wider fight.