2023 Red Sea Crisis

Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis

U.S. Navy and Danish reporting document Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile use in Red Sea defensive operations against Houthi drones and missiles, including U.S. surface-combatant missile expenditure and Iver Huitfeldt's March 2024 drone engagement.

Weapon profileEvolved Sea Sparrow Missile
SideUnited States-led coalitionEuropean Union maritime forcesRoleAir DefenseForce Protection
Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, Ship self-defense missile, Munitions - 2023 Red Sea Crisis
Image source: ESSM Missile | Raytheon

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
U.S. Navy surface forces fired Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles as part of Red Sea defensive operations against Houthi drones and missiles.

Sources: Stars and Stripes Red Sea Missile Tally

Iver Huitfeldt's March 9, 2024 Operation Prosperity Guardian engagement involved its ESSM missile system and resulted in four drones defeated.

Sources: Danish Iver Huitfeldt Review, Defense News Danish Frigate Report

The Danish ship experienced a launcher or missile-system fault that interrupted ESSM availability during the March 9 engagement.

Sources: Danish Iver Huitfeldt Review, Defense News Danish Frigate Report

The public U.S. tally groups ESSM and SM-3 together, so it does not identify a separate U.S. ESSM count or individual ESSM intercept.

Sources: Stars and Stripes Red Sea Missile Tally

Timeline

Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile In 2023 Red Sea Crisis

  1. Operation Prosperity Guardian announced

    The U.S. Department of Defense announced Operation Prosperity Guardian under Combined Maritime Forces and Task Force 153 to address Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

    Sources: Operation Prosperity Guardian Statement

  2. Iver Huitfeldt fights Red Sea drone engagement

    Danish reporting records Iver Huitfeldt's March 9 drone engagement, four drones defeated, and temporary ESSM missile-system problems during the action.

    Sources: Danish Iver Huitfeldt Review, Defense News Danish Frigate Report, Naval News Danish Mission Report

  3. U.S. Navy missile-expenditure tally reported

    Stars and Stripes reported Vice Adm. Brendan McLane's tally that U.S. Navy surface forces had fired a combined 20 Evolved Sea Sparrow and SM-3 missiles, alongside SM-2, SM-6, and gunfire, during 15 months of Red Sea defensive combat.

    Sources: Stars and Stripes Red Sea Missile Tally

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile was used in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis as a shipborne defensive interceptor. Stars and Stripes reported Vice Adm. Brendan McLane's January 2025 Surface Navy Association account that U.S. Navy forces had fired 120 SM-2, 80 SM-6, and a combined 20 Evolved Sea Sparrow and SM-3 missiles during 15 months of Red Sea defensive fighting against Houthi drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.

Danish sources separately document ESSM use by the Royal Danish Navy frigate Iver Huitfeldt during Operation Prosperity Guardian. Denmark's unclassified review of the March 9, 2024 drone engagement says the ship had difficulties conducting engagements with its missile system and later recorded that Iver Huitfeldt had defeated four drones; Defense News summarized the same review as an ESSM launcher-system problem after the first missile that left the second launcher unable to engage for about 30 minutes.

Sources: Stars and Stripes Red Sea Missile Tally, Danish Iver Huitfeldt Review, Defense News Danish Frigate Report

Timeline

Operation Prosperity Guardian was announced on December 18, 2023 as a multinational maritime-security effort under Combined Maritime Forces and Task Force 153, focused on the Red Sea after Houthi attacks on international shipping.

On March 9, 2024, Iver Huitfeldt engaged drones in the Red Sea while deployed with Operation Prosperity Guardian. The Danish review records the engagement, the four drones defeated, and the temporary ESSM availability problem; later reporting described the missile-system issue as beginning after the first ESSM launch. In January 2025, McLane's public tally gave the broader U.S. surface-force expenditure that included Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles in the campaign.

Sources: Operation Prosperity Guardian Statement, Danish Iver Huitfeldt Review, Defense News Danish Frigate Report, Stars and Stripes Red Sea Missile Tally

Operational role

In this conflict, ESSM's documented role was naval air defense and force protection. U.S. destroyers and cruisers used layered ship defenses against Houthi one-way attack drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb operating areas. The public U.S. tally combines ESSM and SM-3 expenditure, so it supports ESSM firing in the campaign but does not identify a specific U.S. ship, target, or intercept as an ESSM shot.

The Danish March 2024 case gives a more specific ship-level example. Iver Huitfeldt was deployed to the Red Sea under Operation Prosperity Guardian and fought a drone engagement on March 9 in which Danish accounts say the ship defeated four drones. The reviewed malfunction sequence is relevant to the conflict-use record because it names the ship's ESSM missile system and explains that a launcher fault interrupted missile engagement during the action.

Sources: Stars and Stripes Red Sea Missile Tally, Danish Iver Huitfeldt Review, Defense News Danish Frigate Report, Naval News Danish Mission Report

Related Weapons by Role

20mm Mk 15 Phalanx, Shipboard close-in weapon system, Naval SystemsNaval Systems20mm Mk 15 PhalanxShipboard close-in weapon systemThe 20mm Mk 15 Phalanx is a U.S.-origin shipboard close-in weapon system built around an M61A1 Gatling gun, self-contained search and track radar, and automated fire-control functions. Navy and manufacturer sources describe it as the U.S. Navy's inner-layer defense against anti-ship missiles, aircraft, unmanned aircraft, and small surface threats; direct combat-use evidence includes USS Jarrett's Gulf War Phalanx firing during the Iraqi Silkworm engagement near USS Missouri and USS Gravely's Red Sea interception of a Houthi anti-ship missile.
RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile, Ship-launched surface-to-air missile, MunitionsMunitionsRIM-116 Rolling Airframe MissileShip-launched surface-to-air missileThe RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile is a U.S.-German ship self-defense missile used with the MK 31 RAM guided missile weapon system and SeaRAM launchers. U.S. Navy and Raytheon sources describe it as a lightweight, quick-reaction, fire-and-forget weapon for close defense against anti-ship missiles and other air or surface threats, while Red Sea reporting documents a German frigate firing a RIM-116 against Houthi drones in 2024.
Standard Missile-2 (SM-2), Shipboard surface-to-air missile family, MunitionsMunitionsStandard Missile-2 (SM-2)Shipboard surface-to-air missile familyThe Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) is a Raytheon-built shipboard surface-to-air missile family used by U.S. and allied navies for fleet area air defense and ship self-defense. Aegis ships launch SM-2 from vertical launch systems, guide it by inertial navigation and mid-course commands, and use semi-active radar or infrared terminal homing in later medium-range blocks. U.S. Navy reporting documents USS Carney firing an SM-2 in October 2023 during Red Sea defense operations against Houthi missiles and drones.
2 more weapons
Back to Evolved Sea Sparrow MissileBrowse 2023 Red Sea Crisis

Sources