UK Warship HMS Diamond To Replace HMS Richmond In Operation Prosperity Guardian In Red Sea

HMS Diamond Returns to the Red Sea for Worldwide Shipping Protection. HMS Diamond will take over from HMS Richmond, which took part in Operation Prosperity Guardian, the international coalition to safeguard commercial shipping from the Houthi attacks in February.

This weekend, HMS Richmond repelled a Houthi drone attack in the waters of the southern Red Sea, shooting down two of the attack drones with Sea Ceptor missiles.

Notably, this is the first time a UK war vessel has successfully fired a Sea Ceptor missile in combat. The deployment is part of the UK’s broader response to the Houthi attacks, which has included intercepting weapon smuggling to Yemen, placing sanctions to hold the members of the Houthis to account, and carrying out proportionate and targeted strikes against the Houthi targets in Yemen.

HMS Richmond, which departed from Plymouth at the beginning of January, is designed for various operations. It also boasts a Sea Ceptor missile system with a strong shield against airborne threats, including helicopters, combat jets, and other missiles. On handing over to HMS Diamond, she is expected to return to the UK via Saudi Arabia for maintenance activities and resupply. The HMS Diamond was operational in the region in December 2023 and January this year, maintaining a consistent presence in the high-threat zone of the Red Sea.

The destroyer had come under fire in three attacks by the Houthi rebels, destroying nine drones using the Sea Viper missile system as well as advanced guns. HMS Diamond has sailed for almost 20,000 nm on patrols from the time it left Portsmouth toward the end of November — enough to carry her all over the globe — while her Wildcat helicopter has flown over 53 hours of sorties over the waters of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, making its crew members the busiest in the Royal Navy.

The UK is dedicated to deterring Houthis from their brutal attacks in the Red Sea as well as the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis’ unlawful attacks have taken the lives of innocent mariners and keep on harming the global economy as well as undermining the overall stability as well as security in Yemen.

Reference: Mirage News

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