Navigating the Red Sea: Challenges and Confrontations

The newly formed naval coalition, Operation Prosperity Guardian, aims to defend Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks originating from Yemen. However, the warships alone will struggle to address the missile and drone threat as well as piracy and hijackings. The requirements for these tasks are different, with the missile defense task requiring a line of ships along the Bab el Mandeb channel, while the piracy task needs a more dynamic approach. The success of Prosperity Guardian may require a combination of defensive measures and precise, non-escalatory counterstrikes to restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.