News - Yemen: Yemeni operations in the Red Sea have dealt an unprecedented strategic blow to US military power, according to military expert Brigadier General Ali Abi Ra’ad, who said Washington has attempted to soften the impact of its failures through diplomatic messaging and unrealistic public reports.

Abi Ra’ad explained that US acknowledgment of defeat is being conveyed indirectly through softened political language, including statements by officials and references to “lessons learned.” He stressed that such rhetoric cannot conceal Washington’s inability to counter Yemen’s effective resistance tactics.

He noted that Yemen has broken the rules of conventional military engagement by leveraging fighters’ morale, terrain, and advanced camouflage techniques—factors that prevented US and Israeli enemy aircraft from locating Yemeni missile launch sites.

According to Abi Ra’ad, Yemen’s “saturation tactics” have disrupted US defensive systems, exposing their vulnerability to low-cost, high-impact attacks. He asserted that American naval vessels sustained confirmed hits, despite Washington’s attempts to dismiss the damage as implausible “technical malfunctions.”

He added that Yemeni forces forced US warships to exhaust large numbers of expensive interceptor missiles within a matter of days, while Yemeni drones successfully penetrated radar systems—including those inside Israel—demonstrating Yemen’s capability for stealth and long-range precision targeting.

Brigadier General Abi Ra’ad highlighted that this confrontation represents, by the assessment of Admiral Brad Cooper, the first major naval battle for the United States since World War II. He said the scale and frequency of Yemeni operations are unprecedented in the modern history of the US Navy.

He concluded that the Yemeni experience has redefined maritime deterrence, rendering aircraft carriers and other traditional US military platforms ineffective in shaping the course of conflict. Yemen, he affirmed, has proven the resistance’s ability to neutralize one of the world’s most powerful navies with low-cost weaponry and high tactical sophistication.

The Red Sea operations, triggered by Yemen in solidarity with Gaza, has presented an unprecedented challenge to US naval power. For months, the country has used relatively low-cost drones, missiles, and unmanned surface vessels to target international shipping and confront US warships, testing the limits of a superpower's defense systems.