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Navy/USMC

Navy Examining Ship Self-Protection Measures

Frank Wolfe

Tuesday, January 14th, 2025

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Navy Examining Ship Self-Protection Measures

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) sails in the Red Sea on Oct. 2nd last year. The ship returned to home port in San Diego on Dec. 19. 2024 (U.S. Central Command Photo)

The U.S. Navy is examining the fielding of relatively inexpensive weapons, including projectiles and directed energy, to protect service ships at distance against missiles and drones--both of which have been weapons of choice against Navy vessels in the Red Sea. Last February, U.S. Air Force Gen. James "Scorch" Hecker, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said that using a $700,000 unit cost Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) to destroy a $7,000 Houthi kamikaze drone over the Red…

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