A ROYAL Navy warship has shot down a ballistic missile fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels for the first time.
HMS Diamond unleashed its devastating Sea Viper system to knock the missile out of the sky, Grant Shapps told The Times.
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It was the first time in more than three decades that British warships had angrily attacked an enemy missile.
The Type 45 anti-aircraft destroyer was protecting a merchant ship attacked on Wednesday in the Red Sea.
The ship had shot down several drones, seven of them on a January night.
But it was the first time a Royal Navy warship had shot down a ballistic missile since 1991, during the first Gulf War.
Shapps said: “A commercial ship was attacked by a ballistic missile and HMS Diamond shot down that missile using Sea Viper.”
Each Sea Viper missile costs more than £1 million.
Shapps said the attack showed how dangerous the world had become.
He said rebel groups like the Houthis were loaded with “very sophisticated weapons” from sponsors like Iran.
He claimed the incident proved Rishi Sunak was right to increase defense spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030.
Shapps added: “That gives an indication of a changed world and why 2.5 per cent is so vital.”
HMS Diamond was deployed to the Red Sea alongside a US aircraft carrier group to protect merchant shipping and Israel from Iranian-backed attacks.
It can track hundreds of tennis ball-sized objects hundreds of kilometers away with its iconic Samson radar.
The Houthi rebels are armed with Iran’s Fateh missiles that can reach more than 400 miles.
The Houthis boasted yesterday about attacking the Maersk Yorktown ship and a US warship destroyer in the Gulf of Aden.
HMS Diamond fired Sea Viper missiles and her Phalanx machine guns to shoot down several drones before rotating with the frigate HMS Richmond.
The smaller British warship shot down a pair of drones using its smaller Sea Cceptor missiles.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one ship and sunk another since November, which they say is in support of the Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
In January, HMS Diamond was forced to defend itself with Sea Viper missiles as militants continued their relentless campaign of attacks.
The massive warship used its formidable Sea Viper missiles to wipe out the rebel threat in Saturday’s showdown.
The same ship has been forced to engage Houthi fighters on other occasions as they continue their relentless campaign of aggression in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
Who are the Houthis?
THE Houthi rebels are terrorizing the Red Sea by launching persistent missile and drone attacks on ships and warships – but who are they?
The Shiite militant group, which now controls most of Yemen, spent more than a decade being largely ignored by the world.
However, since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Gaza, they have jumped from relative obscurity to with approximately £1 trillion of global trade hostage – becoming one of the most active in the world sea routes to an active war zone.
Their twisted motto is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse to the Jews and victory to Islam.”
Why do they attack ships?
The rebel group has been launching relentless drone and missile attacks against any ships, including warships, that agree to be connected to Israel in solidarity with its ally, Hamas.
However, in reality, there have been frequent attacks on commercial vessels with little or no ties to Israel, forcing global shipping traffic to halt operations in the region and skyrocketing shipping prices.
Maritime strikes have threatened to spark a full-blown war in the Middle East as the intense repercussions of Israel’s war in Gaza are felt across the region, with Iran suspected of fueling chaos.
Houthi attacks in the Red Sea increased by 50 percent between November and December, as the rebel group’s leaders vowed that their attacks would continue until Israel stopped its offensive in Gaza.
And despite repeated threats from the West and joint US-UK attacks on their strongholds in Yemen, Iran’s emboldened terrorist proxy appears undeterred.
IRON FLEET
Just days before the January bombing, HMS Diamond and US warships launched a coordinated attack after the Houthis launched their largest assault.
US Central Command said the “complex attack” included bomb-carrying drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship ballistic missile.
It said 18 drones, two cruise missiles and the anti-ship missile were shot down by F-18s from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the US Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Gravely, USS Laboon and USS Mason, as well as the from United Kingdom. HMS Diamond.
HMS Diamond shot seven of the 18 drones out of the sky.
It was at least the second time the Type 45 destroyer deployed its devastating Sea Viper missiles and the first time it used its deck-mounted anti-aircraft gun to destroy targets at much closer range.
The crew shot down at least some of the drones with the ship’s DS-30B 30mm cannon.
The weapon can fire up to 650 rounds per minute and hit fast-moving aircraft more than 1.7 miles away.
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said it was the largest attack by the Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date.
He believes HMS Diamond was “deliberately targeted” by the rebels.
“By deploying Sea Viper missiles and weapons, Diamond destroyed multiple attack drones heading toward her and commercial ships in the area,” Shapps said.
“The UK, together with its allies, has previously made clear that these unlawful attacks are completely unacceptable and, if they continue, the Houthis will bear the consequences.”
He confirmed there were no injuries or damage to Diamond and his crew.
How the United Kingdom and the United States have concentrated a fleet in the Red Sea
BRITISH and US warships have been prepared to bomb Houthi rebels in the Red Sea as tensions reach a boiling point in the Middle East.
In December 2023, the United States launched a multinational joint military coalition called Operation Prosperity Guardian to respond to threats posed by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the international maritime security force will aim to end the rebel blockade and counter Houthi threats to international trade in the area.
So far, the United States has deployed its Carrier Strike Group 2 to the Red Sea, which includes the flagship aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Gravely, USS Laboon and USS Mason.
The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond joined the US-led coalition to step up the counter-offensive against the Houthis.
Retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry spoke to The Sun about how the UK and US have prepared their warships to attack the Houthi rebels and subject them to a storm of more than 600 missiles.
He said: “Warships have a very sophisticated radar detection system.
“It has a main radar that can detect all types of contacts, hundreds of them within a radius of about 400 kilometers, and it has a very sophisticated fire control system.”
Chris praised the warship for its specially designed Gatling Falcon phalanx gun that can fire up to 600 rounds per minute, as well as having a large number of small-caliber weapons on board.
He called it “one of the best anti-aircraft platforms in the world.”
Chris continued: “I think right now the warships are coping quite admirably with the Houthi threat.
“There is a US attack carrier between the carrier and its battle group with more than 600 missiles and possibly even more.”
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