Direct proof of use
The Royal Navy documented Sea Ceptor combat use by HMS Richmond during the 2023 Red Sea Crisis. In its March 28, 2024 account of the frigate's return from the Red Sea, the service said Richmond fired Sea Ceptor missiles to down incoming drones in the early hours of Saturday, March 9, during a large Houthi missile-and-drone attack from Yemen.
A separate Royal Navy report on March 13 said Richmond's Sea Ceptor system was required to down two incoming Houthi drones, describing it as the first time the missile system had been used in anger. A later UK government release also stated that HMS Richmond shot down two attack drones with Sea Ceptor missiles during its southern Red Sea deployment.
Sources: Battle-proven HMS Richmond returns home, Richmond completes Red Sea mission, Royal Navy warship shoots down Houthi missile
March 9 engagement
Royal Navy reporting places the engagement in the small hours of March 9, 2024. HMS Richmond was operating around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, the multinational effort to protect maritime trade through the Red Sea corridor.
The same Royal Navy account said Houthi forces launched 57 missiles and drones from sites in Yemen during the broader attack. CENTCOM's March 9 statement separately reported that U.S. and coalition ships and aircraft shot down one-way attack UAVs after identifying them as threats to merchant, U.S. Navy, and coalition vessels in the Red Sea area.
Sources: Battle-proven HMS Richmond returns home, US and Coalition Defeat Houthi Attack
Operational role
Sea Ceptor's documented role in the crisis was shipboard air defense and force protection. HMS Richmond used the missile from a Type 23 frigate to defend against aerial threats while assigned to protect commercial shipping from Houthi attacks in the southern Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden operating area.
The record supports confirmed Royal Navy use of Sea Ceptor against Houthi drones, not a broader count of every coalition intercept during the March 9 attack. Public official accounts identify HMS Richmond as the firing ship and Sea Ceptor as the missile system, while broader CENTCOM reporting describes the multinational defensive action without attributing every intercept to a specific weapon.
Sources: Battle-proven HMS Richmond returns home, Richmond completes Red Sea mission, Royal Navy warship shoots down Houthi missile, US and Coalition Defeat Houthi Attack
