France's Aquitaine-class FREMM frigate #Alsace has turned tail from the #RedSea after running out of missiles and munitions repelling attacks from the Yemeni armed forces, according to its commander, Jerome Henry. “We didn’t necessarily expect this level of threat. There was an uninhibited violence that was quite surprising and very significant. [The Yemenis] do not hesitate to use drones that fly at water level, to explode them on commercial ships, and to fire ballistic missiles,” Henry told French news outlet Le Figaro thecradle.co/articles-id/24…
The commander of the Alsace also revealed that, after a 71-day deployment, all combat equipment was depleted. “From the Aster missile to the 7.62 machine gun of the helicopter, including the 12.7mm, 20mm, or 76mm cannon, we dealt with three ballistic missiles and half a dozen drones,” Henry adds. According to the French commander, the Franco–Italian Aster missile – each carrying a price tag of up to $2 million – “was pushed to its limits” by the Yemeni armed forces, as the Alsace had to use it “on targets that we did not necessarily imagine at the start.”
@timand2037 How much a kilo of scrap metal from that watship? 😂😂
@timand2037 Certainly, it's true that the British Royal Navy also would immediately leave the scene as France has done if the Houthis started too much trouble. It's a question of superiority between Houthi primitives against a Western naval force.
@timand2037 @simpatico771 "We never expected the enemy to shoot back", he said, before adding "It's dangerous out there."
@timand2037 What were they expecting from the Houthis, rocks and spears?
@timand2037 If I was the Yemeni commander, I would go for the jugular, I'll make sure the warship returns home with heavy damages.