USS Mason Launches Three Interceptors to Defend Against Yemen Cruise Missile Attack


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On October 9, the USS Mason fired two Standard Missile-2 Block IV interceptors and an Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile in response to multiple cruise missiles launched at it and the USS Ponce off the coast of Yemen. The attack comes after a cruise missile launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen struck a UAE vessel on October 1. The missile attack included two missiles, one confirmed to have hit the water without an intercept and the other potentially having been intercepted by an SM-2, though this is unconfirmed. On Wednesday, an additional cruise missile was launched towards the Mason. The first strikes on the U.S. ships were accompanied by the launch of ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia, including the longest range attack recorded during the conflict targeting central Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government reports that it was able to intercept the ballistic missile attacks. In response, the United States fired three Tomahawk cruise missiles from the USS Nitze at radars believed to support the cruise missile attacks.

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Missile Defense Project, "USS Mason Launches Three Interceptors to Defend Against Yemen Cruise Missile Attack," Missile Threat, Center for Strategic and International Studies, October 13, 2016, last modified June 15, 2018, https://missilethreat.csis.org/uss-mason-launches-three-interceptors-defend-yemen-cruise-missile-attack/.