Direct proof of use
The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile was used in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis by the German Navy frigate Hessen. Jane's reported that Hessen first intercepted a UAV with its 76 mm gun and then engaged a second UAV about 20 minutes later with the ship's RIM-116 RAM short-range defense system.
The War Zone attributed the same weapon sequence to German defense ministry spokesperson Michael Stempfle, reporting that the second Houthi drone was shot down with a RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile after the first was engaged with the 76 mm deck gun. Naval News likewise reported that Hessen, assigned to EUNAVFOR Aspides, used its main gun and RAM missile system during the February 27 encounter.
Sources: Jane's Hessen UAV Intercepts, The War Zone Hessen Returns, Naval News Missile Woes
Timeline
Germany joined EUNAVFOR Aspides on February 23, 2024, and Hessen entered the southern Red Sea operating area shortly afterward as the first German contingent. Bundeswehr material describes the mission as a defensive maritime-security operation to protect shipping from Houthi attacks and lists RAM among Hessen's air-defense weapons for close-range targets.
On February 27, 2024, Hessen engaged two Houthi one-way attack drones in the Red Sea. CENTCOM's same-day update said U.S. aircraft and a coalition warship shot down five Houthi UAVs between 9:50 p.m. and 10:55 p.m. Sanaa time after determining they threatened merchant, U.S. Navy, and coalition vessels; Jane's and later reporting identify Hessen's second intercept as the RIM-116 RAM engagement.
Sources: Bundeswehr Aspides Overview, CENTCOM Feb. 27 Red Sea Update, Jane's Hessen UAV Intercepts, The War Zone Hessen Returns
Operational role
In this conflict, the RIM-116's documented role was shipborne point defense and force protection. Hessen used it against a close-range aerial drone threat while operating with the European Union's Aspides mission, whose mandate centered on safeguarding freedom of navigation and protecting merchant shipping from Houthi attacks.
The sources support one specifically identified RAM combat engagement by Hessen on February 27, 2024. They do not identify the exact RAM variant fired, and broader CENTCOM reporting on the same event does not assign each coalition intercept to a named ship or weapon.
Sources: Bundeswehr Aspides Overview, Jane's Hessen UAV Intercepts, The War Zone Hessen Returns, Naval News Missile Woes, CENTCOM Feb. 27 Red Sea Update
