2023 Red Sea Crisis

BGM-109 Tomahawk in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis

U.S. official sources document Tomahawk Land Attack Missile use in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis during January 2024 strikes against Houthi radar, launch, storage, missile, UAV, and weapons sites in Yemen.

Weapon profileBGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile
SideUnited States-led coalitionRoleLong-Range StrikeForce Protection
BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, Ship- and submarine-launched land-attack cruise missile, Munitions - 2023 Red Sea Crisis
Image source: Tomahawk Block IV Cruise Missile Image

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
U.S. forces used Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in the first January 2024 strike wave against Houthi locations in Yemen.

Sources: AFCENT Commander Statement on Houthi Strikes

USS Carney used Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles against a Houthi radar site on January 13, 2024.

Sources: CENTCOM Houthi Radar Site Strike

U.S. and UK forces used Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and manned aircraft in the January 22, 2024 strike package against Houthi missiles, UAVs, and storage areas.

Sources: DOD January 22 Background Briefing

Official public sources identify surface and subsurface launch platforms but do not provide a complete Tomahawk count or a full target-by-target allocation.

Sources: AFCENT Commander Statement on Houthi Strikes, DOD January 22 Background Briefing

Timeline

BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile In 2023 Red Sea Crisis

  1. First U.S.-UK strike wave uses Tomahawks

    AFCENT said January 2024 strikes against more than 60 targets at 16 Houthi locations included Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles launched from surface and subsurface platforms.

    Sources: AFCENT Commander Statement on Houthi Strikes

  2. USS Carney strikes Houthi radar site

    CENTCOM said USS Carney used Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in a follow-on strike against a Houthi radar site in Yemen at 3:45 a.m. Sana'a time.

    Sources: CENTCOM Houthi Radar Site Strike

  3. Tomahawks used in another U.S.-UK strike package

    A Defense Department background briefing said U.S. and UK forces struck eight Houthi target locations with Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and manned aircraft.

    Sources: DOD January 22 Background Briefing

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The BGM-109 Tomahawk is directly documented in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis through U.S. official accounts of strikes against Houthi military infrastructure in Yemen. U.S. Air Forces Central said the January 11, 2024 strike package used coalition air and maritime assets, including Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles launched from surface and subsurface platforms, against more than 60 targets at 16 Houthi locations.

CENTCOM separately identified a January 13, 2024 follow-on strike by USS Carney against a Houthi radar site in Yemen using Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles. A January 22 Defense Department background briefing then described another U.S.-UK strike package from air, surface, and subsurface platforms against Houthi missiles, unmanned aerial systems, and weapons storage areas, using Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and manned aircraft.

Sources: AFCENT Commander Statement on Houthi Strikes, CENTCOM Houthi Radar Site Strike, DOD January 22 Background Briefing

Timeline

The Tomahawk record begins with the first U.S.-UK strike wave on January 11-12, 2024, after Houthi missile, UAV, and maritime attacks against shipping in and around the Red Sea. AFCENT described the strike set as including command-and-control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air-defense radar systems.

On January 13, CENTCOM said USS Carney conducted a follow-on Tomahawk strike against a Houthi radar site associated with the earlier strike package. On January 22, U.S. officials described another multinational strike set against eight Houthi target locations, again naming Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles as part of the weapons used.

Sources: AFCENT Commander Statement on Houthi Strikes, CENTCOM Houthi Radar Site Strike, DOD January 22 Background Briefing, DOD Additional Houthi Target Strikes

Operational role

In this conflict, Tomahawk's documented role was long-range naval land attack. The missile was used from U.S. surface and subsurface platforms against fixed Houthi military infrastructure in Yemen, while carrier aircraft and UK aircraft also participated in the wider strike packages.

The targets named in public U.S. sources were tied to Houthi capabilities used against vessels: radar sites, launch systems, munitions depots, production facilities, missiles, UAVs, and weapons storage areas. The sources support use by U.S. forces in the Red Sea crisis but do not publish a complete missile count, all launch platforms, or a target-by-target Tomahawk allocation.

Sources: AFCENT Commander Statement on Houthi Strikes, CENTCOM Houthi Radar Site Strike, DOD January 22 Background Briefing, U.S. Navy Tomahawk Cruise Missile Fact File

Related Weapons by Role

MdCN / SCALP Naval, Ship- and submarine-launched land-attack cruise missile, ArtilleryArtilleryMdCN / SCALP NavalShip- and submarine-launched land-attack cruise missileMdCN, also called SCALP Naval or NCM, is MBDA's French naval cruise missile for precision land attack from FREMM frigates and Barracuda/Suffren-class submarines. MBDA describes the weapon as a very-long-range, metric-accuracy deep-strike missile launched either from A70 SYLVER vertical cells or 21-inch submarine torpedo tubes, and French forces used it operationally during the April 2018 U.S., UK, and French strikes in the 2011 Syrian Civil War.
R-17 Scud-B ballistic missile, Short-range ballistic missile, MunitionsMunitionsR-17 Scud-B ballistic missileShort-range ballistic missileThe R-17 Elbrus, known to NATO as the SS-1C Scud-B, is a Soviet road-mobile, liquid-fueled short-range ballistic missile built for deep strikes with conventional, chemical, or nuclear payloads. Its combat record spans Egyptian launches in 1973, Iranian and Iraqi city strikes in the 1980-1988 war, Libyan missile attempts in 1986 and 2011, South Yemeni strikes in 1994, Armenian strikes on Ganja in 2020, and Houthi-aligned use of inherited Yemeni stocks, illustrating the lasting political and civilian risk of older inaccurate ballistic missiles.
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Sources