NYN | News
In the midst of the Red Sea, the U.S. Navy faced an unprecedented test, leaving its warships in direct confrontation with advanced threats and exposing critical vulnerabilities that have raised concerns within the Pentagon.
Lieutenant Stephen Holcomb, an F-18 fighter pilot aboard the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, described the battle as the largest since World War II — the first time in decades that ships have come under sustained enemy fire, paying a high price in munitions and resources.
In an article published Friday by the U.S. Naval Institute, Holcomb noted that the operations marked the first-ever military confrontation with unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), forcing U.S. forces to employ close-in defense systems and naval guns to counter previously unseen threats.
Aircraft also struggled to identify targets due to reliance on outdated technology, often depending on external intelligence. The operations also exposed serious limitations in aerial refueling capabilities, reducing the strike group’s ability to operate independently.
Among the daily challenges, Holcomb said, were small drones used by the Houthis (Ansar Allah), which posed a persistent threat. “They are fast, cheap, mobile, and hard to track — yet precise and effective.”
The battle also depleted key munitions, particularly Tomahawk missiles, highlighting the limited domestic production capacity compared to operational demand.
Holcomb concluded that the U.S. Navy has come face-to-face with its own limits in a complex combat environment, and this experience will likely drive sweeping changes in tactics and equipment. He warned, however, that the high cost of the campaign could hinder the Navy’s ability to engage in a large-scale conflict in the near future — especially in the Pacific.
