Pentagon chief extends deployment of US aircraft carrier as Houthi attacks persist

The US defense secretary has ordered another extension of the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, which has been deployed to the Middle East for over seven months, as it carries out a mission to deter the Iran-backed Houthis from attacking ships in the Red Sea.

Also known as the “Ike,” the nuclear-powered ship has had its deployment extended for an extra month, a US defense official told Al Arabiya English. This comes amid another increase in the rate of Houthi attacks in the Middle East.

The “Ike,” the flagship of Carrier Strike Group Two, has been deployed since Oct. 14, just days after the Hamas attack on Israel. The Hamas attack reignited fighting in a region that US President Joe Biden’s top national security advisor had said just a few days before was “quieter today than it has been in two decades now.”

Shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas and ensuing Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Yemen’s Houthis began targeting military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which they assessed to have any ties to Israel. The Iran-backed group has been firing indiscriminately and hit several ships with no links to the US or Israel. This has included a ship heading to Yemen with food and a Chinese-owned and operated oil tanker.

Alongside the carrier itself, the Eisenhower carrier strike group includes the destroyers USS Gravely and USS Mason and the cruiser USS Philippine Sea. The carrier strike group also includes the air wing based on the Ike and comprises approximately 6,000 sailors.

On Thursday, the US military said it had destroyed eighty Houthi uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The US military also destroyed two uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in the Red Sea. In addition to that, a coalition ship destroyed a UAS over the Red Sea, which was launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The Houthis also launched an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) from Yemen over the Red Sea. No injuries or damages were reported by any US, coalition or commercial ships.

But the incident shows how the daily battle continues despite a monthslong US-led campaign to deter the Houthis, who have said they will stop their attacks once a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

A second US defense official told Al Arabiya English that the US had carried out 51 self-defense strikes against the Houthis, who the official said had carried out over 170 attacks since November.