 Yemen's Houthis deploy underwater drone for first time, Pentagon. Yemen's Houthi rebels have attempted to use a submersible drone for the first time, but it was destroyed in yet another wave of US-led coalition attacks over the weekend the US Central Command has claimed. The US Navy conducted a series of five strikes, hitting three Houthi cruise missiles, an unmanned surface vessel and one unmanned underwater vessel on February the 17th. CENTCOM announced on X. This is the first observed Houthi employment of an unmanned underwater vessel since attacks began in October 2023. The US military wrote claiming it presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and commercial vessels in the area. Since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in Gaza, the Houthi militants who are in control of a large portion of Yemen have harassed multiple vessels sailing in the Red Sea. In solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, the Houthis vowed to attack any ships they find to be linked to Israel until the siege of Gaza stops. In response, the US launched an international maritime coalition to patrol the Red Sea called Prosperity Guardian with the stated goal of protecting shipping lanes. Since mid-January, the US and UK have carried out air and sea-launched attacks against multiple underground storage facilities, command and control, missile systems, UAV storage operations sites, radars and helicopters in Yemen in an attempt to degrade Houthi capabilities to attack military vessels and merchant ships.