
In the U.S. effort to protect allied commercial and military ships from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea region, the Navy 5th Fleet is seeking advances in laser technology and non-kinetic means, the fleet commander said on Aug. 7. "There are certainly challenges in this region--short times of flight, rapid ability to respond--those are unique to this environment," Vice Adm. George Wikoff, the commander of U.S. 5th Fleet, told a Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual forum. "But the…