For the second time in a week, anti-ship cruise missiles (likely the Chinese designed C-802 or an Iranian equivalent) targeted U.S. Navy vessels from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. On Oct. 12, the USS Mason fired defensive salvos in response to two missiles that failed to strike it. The same vessel was targeted Oct. 9 and reportedly fired three missiles in defense of itself and of the USS Ponce, which it was escorting. After the Oct. 9 attack, Houthis denied that they had targeted the vessels, but U.S. officials say the evidence implicates the group. Both times, the USS Mason was cruising on the Red Sea along a critical international shipping route just north of the Bab el-Mandeb strait....
