sailors from the frigate “Languedoc” recount their missions in the Red Sea

The French Navy ship escorted commercial ships, often huge container ships. On board, the sailors had to fire several times against the kamikaze drones.

“We were sent at a time when the Houthi threat was emerging.” The frigate Languedoc returned to its home port of Toulon on March 11, after seven and a half months of mission in the Red Sea. Since November 2023, the Houthis, supported by Iran, have increased attacks against merchant shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Aiming at international trade, these spectacular attacks, using kamikaze drones in particular, are increasing near the crossing point opposite Yemen, which provides access to the strategic Suez Canal.

On the helicopter flight deck, at the stern of the building, the “pacha”, the ship captain Laurent Sounois, summarizes its mission in a few sentences. “The first step in this type of mission is the autonomous assessment of the situation: being on site to see what is happening, and then protecting commercial traffic. On several occasions, it was threatened by hostile aerial mobiles such as drones or missiles”deciphers the sailor. Before specifying: “I have had to engage ‘Aster’ on several occasions. It is a surface-to-air defense missile which is versatile and which can deal with the different types of threats we face.“.

A huge explosion during an interception in February

In the operations room located under the bridge, a blind room lined with control screens, the masters Maxime and Alexis in charge of firing these “Aster” interception missiles described one of these operations on February 21, shortly after midnight. In front of them, an infrared image: “It is the complete sequence of the shooting. The drone is this tiny black pixel. You will see the interception in a few seconds,” said one of the sailors. Filmed from 15 km away in infrared, the interception resulted in a huge explosion – the drone was probably loaded with a very heavy charge of explosives.

There Languedoc thus neutralized four explosive kamikaze drones. On the bridge, Captain Laurent, the building’s first mate, confirms: the engagement mechanism is well oiled. “These commitments, it is the realization of long days spent in the operation, behind the screens, providing information on the adversary and the tactical situation… In a few tens of seconds, we must find the enemy, identify when he is going to bring together and act. We realize at that moment that the sailors are perfectly trained, that we know our equipment, that the reactions are good. Everyone does their job to help defend us, to defend the commercial vessels that we must escort“.

Since December, French frigates Languedoc, Alsace and Lorraine fired a total of 22 Aster missiles – at a million euros each – to intercept Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.