Red Sea ballistic missile attacks trigger Asian interest in defences

Covenant Logistics

21/02/2024 09:07

By Gerry Doyle
       SINGAPORE, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The use of anti-ship
ballistic missiles (ASBMs) in the Red Sea has spurred interest
in Asia about the systems used to shoot them down, experts and
industry officials say - although China, with its huge ASBM
arsenal, presents a tougher challenge.
    U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) media releases from Nov. 27 -
the world's first documented use of an ASBM in combat - to Feb.
20 mention a total of 48 ASBMs and 12 interceptions in the Red
Sea. Those releases noted that many ASBMs fired by the
Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthis posed no danger and were not
engaged.
    On the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow this week, a
senior executive at a U.S. defence contractor said the air
defence activity in the Red Sea and in Ukraine had caught the
attention of potential customers in Asia.
    "What we're seeing is demand increase for integrated air and
missile defence here," said the executive, who declined to be
named because of the sensitivity of the matter. He said that
included sensors to detect targets, the weapons to shoot them
down and the command-and-control systems tying it all together.
    Robert Hewson of Sweden's Saab  SAABb.ST  said at the air
show that customers in Asia were now more interested in not just
countering ballistic missiles, but also small, "low-end" aerial
threats such as drones that have been launched in concert with 
larger attacks in the Red Sea.
    "It turns out we can do this ballistic missile stuff,"
Hewson said. "It costs a lot of money and shoots big expensive
missiles, but it looks like it all works. What we're not really
able to do reliably is handle swarms of small threats that are
coming at us ... at the same time."
    CENTCOM said it did not have a complete tally of ASBMs
fired, interceptions and interception attempts for public
release. A U.S. defence official said whenever ASBMs were in
range of a Navy ship, they were engaged.
    U.S. Navy destroyers are equipped with the Aegis air defence
system, with components from Lockheed Martin  LMT.N , among
others, which is designed to shoot down aircraft, cruise
missiles and ballistic missiles. 
    Aegis uses RTX  RTX.N  subsidiary Raytheon's SM-2, SM-3 and
SM-6 missiles to intercept threats. A Raytheon spokesperson
declined to comment on whether the company had seen increased
interest in missile defence systems since the Houthi attacks
began. A Lockheed Martin spokesperson provided public
information about increased production of certain systems. 
    A spokesperson for European defence conglomerate MBDA noted
at the air show that the British government had awarded it a 400
million pound ($505 million) contract in January to upgrade its
Sea Viper air defence system to handle ballistic missiles. 
    A missile defence program director with direct knowledge of
the Aegis system said a key takeaway from that conflict was
missile defence ships must have "deep magazines", carrying
enough interceptors to allow multiple shots at each threat.
    U.S. Navy Admiral Mark Melson, commander of Logistics Group
Western Pacific, said at the air show the military was studying
what lessons from the missile engagements could be applied in
Asia and elsewhere.
    "In a very competitive shipping environment, where we
potentially have a scenario where weapons are getting used as a
high rate, clearly, we want to understand what that sustainment
challenge looks like," he said, speaking about keeping U.S.
warships' missile defences supplied.
    The Houthis have said all their missiles are domestically
produced. Experts, the U.S. military and the U.S. Defense
Intelligence Agency say Iran has at least provided assistance,
if not weapons themselves. 
    In either case, the ASBMs and targeting on display in the
Red Sea are rudimentary compared with what China could bring to
bear, said Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Foundation for
International Peace.
    "The overall system complexity of Chinese ASBMs, including
the range to which they aspire, outclasses the missiles we've
seen used by the Houthis," he said. "I think both Beijing and
Washington would do well to not overinterpret lessons about the
viability and limitations of ASBMs from the last few months'
experience in the Red Sea."

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 (Reporting by Gerry Doyle; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((Gerry.Doyle@thomsonreuters.com;))