Direct proof of use
Anti-ship cruise missiles are directly documented in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis through U.S. Central Command incident reports. On 9 January 2024, CENTCOM said Iranian-backed Houthis launched one-way attack UAVs, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile from Houthi-controlled Yemen toward international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea; U.S. and UK naval and air forces shot the weapons down.
The class also appears in individual missile-firing reports. CENTCOM said Houthi militants fired an anti-ship cruise missile from Yemen toward USS Laboon on 14 January 2024, and fired another anti-ship cruise missile toward the Red Sea on 30 January 2024 that USS Gravely shot down.
Sources: CENTCOM 26th Houthi Attack, CENTCOM Laboon ASCM, CENTCOM Gravely ASCM
Timeline
The first large public anti-ship cruise missile salvo in the crisis was the 9 January 2024 combined Houthi attack into the southern Red Sea, which CENTCOM counted as the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes since 19 November 2023.
On 4 February 2024, CENTCOM struck a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile in Yemen that it said was prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea. On 21 February, CENTCOM reported four self-defense strikes against seven mobile Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles and one mobile anti-ship ballistic missile launcher that were prepared to launch toward the Red Sea. On 12 June, CENTCOM said it destroyed three anti-ship cruise missile launchers in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.
Sources: CENTCOM 26th Houthi Attack, CENTCOM February 4 ASCM Strike, CENTCOM February 21 Rollup, CENTCOM June 12 Update
Narrative
In this conflict, anti-ship cruise missiles were part of the Houthi maritime strike package used against naval forces, commercial traffic, and shipping lanes around the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb approaches. Public official reporting usually identifies the weapon class rather than a recoverable model name, so the class-level record is strongest for launches, intercepts, and launcher strikes that official sources call anti-ship cruise missile activity.
Recovered debris and technical analysis provide model-family context for some incidents. The Defense Intelligence Agency compared debris from the 11 December 2023 attack on M/T Strinda with the Iranian Tolu-4 turbojet used in the Noor anti-ship cruise missile family, while IISS assessed that Houthi anti-ship cruise missile holdings included C-802-derived Noor and Ghader systems and longer-range Paveh/Quds-family anti-ship cruise missiles.
The documented role was maritime interdiction and area denial. Anti-ship cruise missile launches forced naval interception, threatened merchant vessels, and drew U.S. self-defense strikes against missiles and launchers before launch; the public evidence does not support assigning every Houthi maritime attack in the crisis to anti-ship cruise missiles, because many reported attacks used ballistic missiles, UAVs, unmanned surface vessels, or mixed salvos.
Sources: CENTCOM 26th Houthi Attack, DIA Seized At Sea, IISS Navigating Troubled Waters, CENTCOM February 21 Rollup, CENTCOM June 12 Update
