Houthi Missile Shot Down by Phalanx CIWS: First Operational Use and/or Success of CIWS by U.S. Warship?

[henry1611]

Reported in the news just now:

QUOTE

A cruise missile launched by the Houthis into the Red Sea on Tuesday night came within a mile of a United States destroyer before it was shot down, four US officials told CNN, the closest a Houthi attack has come to a US warship.

In the past, these missiles have been intercepted by US destroyers in the area at a range of eight miles or more, the officials said. But the USS Gravely had to use its Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) for the first time since the US began intercepting the Houthi missiles late last year, which ultimately succeeded in downing the missile, officials said

UNQUOTE

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-new ... ee177ceaa8

On a related subject is a recent article: "USS Wainwright CO explains why Phalanx CIWS failed to shoot down the Harpoon missile fired by Iranians at his ship during Operation Praying Mantis"

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/uss-wai ... ng-mantis/

[maverick3320]

I would think it would take some explaining as to why the missile got that close in the first place!

[henry1611]

Updated reporting but few additional details

https://www.twz.com/news-features/phala ... yer-report

[henry1611]

I would think it would take some explaining as to why the missile got that close in the first place!

Depending on reason, we may never know (really, be told).

[thewood1]

Just think, only a few years ago, they were removing Phalanx systems from DDGs. Usually when something like this happens, it is eventually found out that human decision-making was the root cause for a near-disaster. Someone misreading vectors, misreading intent, not having a specific arming switch set properly, etc. The Phalanx was probably the rectifier of someone else's poor decision.

We know that, technically, the DDGs are more than capable of downing a single ASCM. But the chance of one getting through are always greater than zero. So if you fire enough, sooner or later someone will make a mistake and one will get through. That's why just sitting there for so long with no real plan to eliminate the root threat will eventually lead to trouble.

[henry1611]

Just think, only a few years ago, they were removing Phalanx systems from DDGs. Usually when something like this happens, it is eventually found out that human decision-making was the root cause for a near-disaster. Someone misreading vectors, misreading intent, not having a specific arming switch set properly, etc. The Phalanx was probably the rectifier of someone else's poor decision.

We know that, technically, the DDGs are more than capable of downing a single ASCM. But the chance of one getting through are always greater than zero. So if you fire enough, sooner or later someone will make a mistake and one will get through. That's why just sitting there for so long with no real plan to eliminate the root threat will eventually lead to trouble.

Has there been reporting on how the U.S. and RAN have employed their SAMs in each engagement to date? Given the confined waters, engagement of ASCMs/ASBMs/drones not necessarily targeted at the shooter and the limited nature of each engagement (not countering a Backfire regiment), has it been shoot one and see what happens or shoot two? I ask because, if it is shoot one and given the relatively short engagement distances ("in the area at a range of eight miles or more"), then a malfunction or a miss of the first shot would leave little time for a second shot. This could leave CIWS as the last resort.

EDIT:

In-depth analysis by someone more qualified than I.

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... -incident/

[henry1611]

From what I have been reading and what is being reported, it would seem that this is the first operational success of Phalanx CIWS by a U.S. warship.

(During Operation Desert Storm, the Phalanx CIWS on the USS Jarrett (FFG-33), operating in automatic target-acquisition mode during an Iraqi Silkworm attack, fixed on the USS Missouri's (BB-63) chaff and released a burst of rounds. From this burst, four rounds hit the Missouri. HMS Gloucester (D96) shot down the missile with two Sea Dart surface-to-air missiles.)