US military official has expressed shock at the level of firepower Yemen possesses against Israel
A senior U.S. defense procurement official has expressed surprise at the level of firepower utilized by Yemen's Armed Forces against Israel and its allies.
Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment, delivered comments at a Washington, D.C., event hosted by the American news outlet Axios on Wednesday.
Expressing his astonishment, he commented on the scale and sophistication of operations conducted by Yemeni forces in the past half year.
The forces have acquired highly advanced weaponry, featuring missiles with remarkable capabilities, he remarked. “As an engineer and physicist with extensive experience in missile technology, I find these advancements truly astonishing,” he added.
An American official remarked that the Yemeni forces are becoming increasingly formidable.
In response to Israel’s ongoing military operations since October 2023, including heavy bombardments and a blockade on the Gaza Strip as well as intensified actions against Lebanon, forces have carried out numerous strikes targeting Israeli locations within the occupied Palestinian territories.
The relentless military offensive and rising hostilities have resulted in the deaths of over 43,700 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, alongside a minimum of 3,360 Lebanese.
In a bid to exert economic pressure on the regime, forces have expanded their operations to target Israeli ships and vessels navigating to and from the territories.
According to Axios, military operations involving the deployment of attack drones and both ballistic and cruise missiles have effectively choked shipping lanes off the coast of Yemen.
According to the report, Yemeni forces have successfully sunk several of the targeted vessels.
In recent developments, military personnel have been directing operations against American naval vessels situated off the Yemeni coast. These actions serve as a demonstration against the United States’ political and military backing of Israeli actions and are a response to U.S. military strikes on Yemen. The strikes seek to disrupt Yemen’s activities supporting Palestinian and Lebanese interests.
In recent developments, the Armed Forces executed two notable preemptive military operations targeting United States naval assets on Tuesday.
In a coordinated assault, the initial operation targeted the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, deploying a combination of cruise missiles and drones. Concurrently, a separate strike aimed at two US destroyers stationed in the Red Sea utilized ballistic missiles and additional unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to a report by Axios, the second offensive involved the launch of a minimum of eight drones, accompanied by five anti-ship ballistic missiles and four anti-ship cruise missiles targeting the two destroyers.
Yemen has reiterated its commitment to sustaining military operations until the cessation of Israeli hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza.
