DrGermany wants to participate in the European Union mission to secure maritime traffic in the Red Sea against Houthi attacks with an F-124 frigate. According to information from WELT AM SONNTAG, the “Hessen” frigate is scheduled to depart towards the region on February 1.
The naval ship has a radar reconnaissance capable of detecting 1,000 targets simultaneously, anti-aircraft missiles, and attack helicopters on board. Most recently, the frigate spent six months traveling for NATO in the North Sea and the Arctic to conduct exercises and deter Russia.
At the end of this week, the crisis worsened. The United States and Great Britain attacked the positions of the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen. US President Joe Biden said the military strike was a “direct response to the unprecedented attacks” on international shipping in the Red Sea. On Saturday evening, the US army carried out another attack on a Houthi site in Yemen.
The Houthis declared war on Israel after invading Gaza and are bombing commercial ships belonging to the country's allies as well as American military targets and cities in Israel. The United States, Great Britain and 18 other countries have been trying to protect trade since December through Operation Prosperity Sentinel.
The new EU mission, which will be approved at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on February 19, is due to start by the end of February. More than twelve percent of global trade passes through the Red Sea. According to information from this newspaper, the cost of disruptions, according to confidential information from the European External Action Service, amounts to “360 million euros per hour” because commercial ships are forced to take detours of up to 6,000 kilometers.
New mission planned
The military arm of the European maritime surveillance mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, Operation Agenor, in which seven EU countries participate on a voluntary basis, is likely to be deployed in the Red Sea as part of a military operation. The independent EU mission expanded to the Gulf of Aden.
Paris and Berlin want it that way, too. According to informed diplomats, the advantage of this solution is that the new mission can build on existing infrastructure. EU ships are primarily supposed to monitor the situation, but also accompany individual ships and, if necessary, intervene with armed force to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones.
