2023 Red Sea Crisis

Aster 30 / Sea Viper in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis

Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond used the Sea Viper air-defense system in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to intercept Houthi drones and a missile threatening merchant shipping.

Weapon profileAster 30 / Sea Viper air-defense missile
SideUnited States-led coalitionRoleAir DefenseForce Protection
Aster 30 / Sea Viper air-defense missile, Surface-to-air interceptor missile, Air Defense - 2023 Red Sea Crisis
Image source: HMS Defender Sea Viper

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
HMS Diamond used Sea Viper in December 2023 to intercept a drone fired toward merchant shipping in the Red Sea crisis.

Sources: Royal Navy Diamond Red Sea Task Force

Diamond's January 2024 defensive actions brought its reported total to nine Houthi drones destroyed using Sea Viper and guns.

Sources: Royal Navy Drone Number Nine, UK MOD HMS Richmond Handover

Diamond used Sea Viper on 24 April 2024 to shoot down a Houthi missile targeting a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

Sources: Royal Navy Houthi Missile Shootdown

The system's theater role was naval air defense and protection of shipping under the multinational maritime-security response.

Sources: Royal Navy Diamond Red Sea Task Force, UK MOD Sea Viper Upgrade, UK MOD HMS Duncan Deployment

Timeline

Aster 30 / Sea Viper air-defense missile In 2023 Red Sea Crisis

  1. HMS Diamond downs a drone fired at merchant shipping

    The Royal Navy said HMS Diamond downed a drone fired at merchant shipping three days before joining Operation Prosperity Guardian, marking the first operational use of a Type 45 Sea Viper missile.

    Sources: Royal Navy Diamond Red Sea Task Force

  2. Seven-drone attack defeated

    Royal Navy reporting on Diamond's return from deployment said the destroyer shot down seven drones aimed at merchant vessels in one night using Sea Viper missiles and guns.

    Sources: Royal Navy Diamond Returns

  3. Ninth drone shot down

    The Royal Navy described Diamond's third engagement in the region, in which a Sea Viper missile was launched against a Houthi drone moving from land toward the ocean.

    Sources: Royal Navy Drone Number Nine

  4. Houthi missile intercepted in the Gulf of Aden

    HMS Diamond used Sea Viper to shoot down a Houthi missile that UK sources said was targeting a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

    Sources: Royal Navy Houthi Missile Shootdown

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Sea Viper was used operationally in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis by HMS Diamond, a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer operating with the U.S.-led maritime-security response. The Royal Navy reported that Diamond downed a drone fired at merchant shipping shortly before joining Operation Prosperity Guardian in December 2023, describing the engagement as the first operational use of a Type 45 Sea Viper missile.

The system continued to be used during Diamond's Red Sea and Gulf of Aden deployment. Royal Navy and UK Ministry of Defence accounts credit Diamond with destroying nine Houthi drones across three attacks using Sea Viper and guns, and with using Sea Viper on 24 April 2024 to shoot down a Houthi missile targeting a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

Sources: Royal Navy Diamond Red Sea Task Force, Royal Navy Drone Number Nine, Royal Navy Houthi Missile Shootdown, UK MOD HMS Duncan Deployment

Timeline

The first documented Sea Viper use in the crisis occurred in mid-December 2023, when HMS Diamond intercepted a drone fired toward merchant shipping. On 9 January 2024, Diamond faced a larger drone attack and later Royal Navy reporting said the ship shot down seven drones aimed at merchant vessels that night using Sea Viper missiles and guns.

A further January engagement brought Diamond's reported drone total to nine. On 24 April 2024, after Diamond returned to the region, the destroyer used Sea Viper to intercept a Houthi missile that UK and Royal Navy sources said was targeting a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

Sources: Royal Navy Diamond Red Sea Task Force, Royal Navy Drone Number Nine, Royal Navy Diamond Returns, Royal Navy Houthi Missile Shootdown

Operational role

In this conflict, Sea Viper's documented role was shipborne air defense and force protection. HMS Diamond used the system to protect merchant traffic and naval forces against Houthi aerial threats launched from Yemen into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden operating areas.

The engagements were part of a wider maritime-security campaign around Operation Prosperity Guardian and related UK deployments. UK statements tied Diamond's Sea Viper use to freedom of navigation, protection of commercial shipping, and defense against drones and missiles in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Sources: Royal Navy Diamond Red Sea Task Force, UK MOD Sea Viper Upgrade, UK MOD HMS Richmond Handover, Royal Navy Houthi Missile Shootdown

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Sources