Something about this story just doesn’t pass the proverbial sniff test.
It is 1,300 straight line miles from Yemen to Israel; add in the Red Sea path claimed, and you add another approximately 200 miles. So, the claim is around 1,500 +/- miles.
The Raytheon built Tomahawk cruise missile, with GPS enabling, some of the most advanced cruise missile tech in the world, has a max targeting distance of 1,000 miles [LINK]. How the hell did Yemen get missiles and drones capable of flying 1,500 targeted miles?
Additionally, if Yemen had this level of missile technology available, the Houthi rebels would have flown them at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over the past decade during their war.
Now that I have shared that context, look carefully at how the statements are worded (emphasis mine).
(VIA ABC) – The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer in the Red Sea, on Thursday shot down multiple missiles launched by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen that the Pentagon said were potentially headed toward targets in Israel.
The ship intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and about eight drones, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press briefing.
The preliminary U.S. assessment was that the USS Carney was not the target of any of the Houthi missiles or drones.
Information about the engagements was still being processed, Ryder said. “We cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting but they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea potentially to targets in Israel.