Yemen: The operation in which Yemeni forces seized the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea marked a turning point in modern asymmetric maritime conflict. The incident triggered extensive debate within Western military circles over the vulnerability of naval fleets—particularly aircraft carriers and advanced warships—to missile and drone warfare.

Col. Akram Kamal Serwi said in an interview with Almasirah that Yemen has overturned long-standing military principles that shaped US and global naval strategy for decades. He explained that the American doctrine—based on deploying aircraft carriers and frigates to impose military pressure and achieve dominance—was fundamentally disrupted by Yemen’s approach in the Red Sea.

Serwi noted that Washington assumed it could apply its traditional naval strategy to Yemen, believing Yemen lacked a significant navy or major warships. Despite the overwhelming US and European advantage on paper, he said, Yemen’s actions forced a dramatic re-evaluation of these assumptions.

He stressed that the confrontation was not a conventional naval battle: “This was not carriers and frigates facing equal fleets—it was Yemeni missiles and drones directly challenging some of the most advanced naval forces in the world.” This, he added, has driven a major shift inside the Pentagon, which is now urgently studying ways to protect its naval assets from missile and drone threats—an increasingly difficult challenge.

Serwi also pointed out that the United States has begun focusing heavily on missile development after years of giving it less priority. He cited comments by US President Donald Trump indicating that Washington is now spending large sums to produce new missiles capable of striking any target worldwide within hours.

He concluded by saying the strategic balance has reversed: while the US once led in nuclear weapons followed by Russia, today Russia leads in missile technology, and the US is trying to catch up. According to Serwi, Yemen’s performance in the Red Sea has been a major factor pushing Washington to accelerate advanced missile development.

The Galaxy Leader was escorted to the Red Sea port of Hodeidah in northern Yemen after being boarded by the Yemeni Armed Forces at sea on 19 November 2023, shortly after the outbreak of the war in Gaza. This operation became a defining moment in asymmetric maritime warfare and remains central to ongoing global military assessments regarding the vulnerability of modern naval fleets to missile and drone attacks.