US warship in Red Sea downs Iranian-made drone launched from Yemen

WASHINGTON — A US Navy warship sailing near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait shot down a drone launched from Yemen, a US official says, in the latest in a string of threats from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The official says according to initial reports, USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, deemed the drone — an Iranian-made KAS-04 — to be a threat and shot it down over water in the southern Red Sea as the ship was moving toward the strait. The official speaks on condition of anonymity to discuss a military operation not yet made public.

Today’s shootdown comes a day after a Iranian drone flew within 1,500 yards of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier as it was conducting flight operations in international waters in the Arabian Gulf.

Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, said the drone “violated safety precautions” by not staying more than 10 nautical miles from the ship. The drone ignored multiple warnings but eventually turned away.

Earlier this month, another Navy destroyer, the USS Thomas Hudner, shot down a drone that was heading toward the ship as it sailed in the southern Red Sea. It also was near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and it shot down the drone over the water.