US Navy warships fought off a ‘complex’ missile and drone attack in the Red Sea

“We did what we had to do to protect our forces, and at the end of the day, no ship was hit, no damage, and no injuries to our personnel,” she added.

A US official told Business Insider on Friday that the Navy currently has five warships in the Red Sea: the destroyers USS Frank E. Petersen, USS Michael Murphy, USS Spruance, USS Stockdale, and the littoral combat ship USS Indianapolis.

Only the Petersen and Michael Murphy were in the Red Sea a little over a week ago, a US official told BI at the time, suggesting that the other three warships moved into the region within the last few days. The increased Red Sea presence comes amid heightened fears of an all-out conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, another militant group backed by Iran.

Some reporters identified the Spruance, Stockdale, and Indianapolis as the warships that appeared to come under attack on Friday.

The incident marked the latest provocation from the Houthis, who have spent months attacking merchant shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with deadly missiles and drones. The Houthis have previously made up having struck US warships.

US warships have routinely been tasked with intercepting these threats and frequently carry out strikes against the rebels in Yemen.

However, until Friday, the past two weeks had been relatively quiet. US forces said they destroyed one missile system in Yemen and two drones over the Red Sea during this time period.