US unveils international force to defend Red Sea. Here’s what we know.

Update: The Spanish Defence Ministry has responded to Defense News’ request for comment.

WASHINGTON, LONDON and PARIS — Several nations have announced their contributions to Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new multinational security initiative in the Middle East to help protect merchant ships in the Red Sea area from drones and missiles.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin formally announced the effort Dec. 18, after previously hinting that collective action is required to protect civilian ships in the region.

To date, Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched at least 100 attacks with one-way drones and ballistic missiles, targeting 10 merchant vessels that represent more than 35 different nations, according to a readout of a virtual meeting between security group participants.

“Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity,” Austin said Dec. 18.

He noted this effort will fall under the purview of the Combined Maritime Forces — a multinational maritime partnership based in Bahrain — and its Task Force 153. The CMF is made up of 39 nations, and its various task forces help secure the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Some task forces also focus on countering piracy across the region as well as and training and partner-building activities.

About 20,000 commercial vessels transit the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden every year, according to the French Navy. Task Force 153 specifically covers the Red Sea and was established in 2022 to address human trafficking and smuggling of both legal materials like coal and illegal weapons and drugs, Defense News previously reported .

The readout of Austin’s meeting noted that task force “could be leveraged to deter attacks under the CMF,” but the Defense Department declined to provide additional information.

Here are some details about forces participating in Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Britain has committed a Type 45 destroyer equipped with air defense weapons to the international task force.

The Defence Ministry announced Dec. 19 the destroyer HMS Diamond will lead the Royal Navy’s contribution to Operation Prosperity Guardian.

HMS Diamond has been in the region for a little more than two weeks and moved to the Red Sea on Saturday. It was almost immediately called into action to shoot down a suspected Houthi drone aimed at a commercial ship in the area. This was first time the Royal Navy shot down an aerial target since the Gulf War in 1991.

The British destroyer HMS Diamond sails May 2, 2023, by London, England. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

“This is an international problem that requires an international solution. That is why HMS Diamond has joined Operation Prosperity Guardian,” Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said while announcing the work with the security group.

British forces have been on hand with a small fleet of ships in the region. For example, the military operates a flotilla out of Bahrain that includes the frigate HMS Lancaster, three mine-hunting vessels and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship.

Italy will do its part to counter “destabilizing terrorist activity” by sending the multimission frigate Virginio Fasan to the Red Sea, the country’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto and Austin discussed maritime security in a video call Tuesday, including options for securing shipping routes to avoid economic repercussions and “dangerous impacts” on commodity prices.

“It’s necessary to increase the presence in the area in order to create the conditions for stabilization, to avoid environmental disasters and also to avoid a resurgence of the inflationary push,” Crosetto said in the statement.

The French multimission frigate Languedoc has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden and the southern area of the Red Sea since Dec. 8 to secure freedom of navigation, the French Navy said in a Dec. 15 statement.

The Languedoc shot down two drones coming from the direction of Yemen that appeared hostile on the second day of its patrol duty. The frigate destroyed a drone threatening the Norwegian oil tanker Strinda on Dec. 11, before moving in to protect the stricken tanker and prevent a hijacking, according to the Navy. A fire aboard the Strinda was brought under control without injuries.

Norway will dispatch as many as 10 staff officers to the Combined Maritime Forces, the Norwegian Defence Ministry said.

Marita Isaksen Wangberg, a ministry spokesperson, told Defense News the country isn’t sending any vessels.

The Netherlands plans to contribute two staff officers to the operation. The country doesn’t have any vessels in the area at this time, and the contribution of ships is under review, Navy spokesperson Alex Kranenburg told Defense News.

Spain has not made a decision regarding its participation in Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Defence Ministry’s spokesperson, Nuria Fernández de la Fuente, told Defense News. Any participation by Spain, the representative added, would not be unilateral but within the framework of NATO or the European Union.

Megan Eckstein is the naval warfare reporter at Defense News. She has covered military news since 2009, with a focus on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operations, acquisition programs and budgets. She has reported from four geographic fleets and is happiest when she’s filing stories from a ship. Megan is a University of Maryland alumna.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

最新消息：西班牙国防部已回复《防务新闻》的置评请求。

华盛顿、伦敦和巴黎——多个国家宣布将为“繁荣卫士行动”做出贡献。这是一项新的中东多国安全倡议，旨在帮助保护红海地区的商船免受无人机和导弹的袭击。

美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀于 12 月 18 日正式宣布了这项行动，此前他曾暗示需要采取集体行动来保护该地区的民用船只。

据安全组织参与者举行的一次虚拟会议的通报，迄今为止，也门胡塞武装已使用单向无人机和弹道导弹发动了至少 100 次袭击，目标是代表 35 个不同国家的 10 艘商船。

“繁荣卫士行动”汇集了包括英国、巴林、加拿大、法国、意大利、荷兰、挪威、塞舌尔和西班牙在内的多个国家，共同应对红海南部和亚丁湾的安全挑战，目标是确保所有国家的航行自由，并加强区域安全与繁荣。奥斯汀于 12 月 18 日表示。

他指出，这项工作将由总部位于巴林的多国海上伙伴关系组织——联合海上部队（CMF）及其第153特遣部队负责。联合海上部队由39个国家组成，其下属各特遣部队负责维护阿曼湾、印度洋、波斯湾、红海和亚丁湾的安全。部分特遣部队还致力于打击该地区的海盗活动，并开展培训和伙伴关系建设活动。

据法国海军统计，每年约有2万艘商船途经红海和亚丁湾。此前《防务新闻》曾报道，第153特遣部队专门负责红海地区的治安，该部队成立于2022年，旨在打击人口贩运以及走私活动，走私物品包括煤炭等合法物资和非法武器、毒品等。

奥斯汀会议的纪要指出，该特别工作组“可以被用来阻止根据《联合军事力量法》发起的袭击”，但国防部拒绝提供更多信息。

以下是参与“繁荣守护者行动”的部队的一些详细信息。

英国已向国际特遣部队派遣了一艘配备防空武器的45型驱逐舰。

英国国防部于12月19日宣布，驱逐舰“钻石”号将率领皇家海军参与“繁荣卫士行动”。

“钻石”号巡洋舰在该地区已停留两周多，并于周六驶往红海。它几乎立即被召集执行任务，击落了一架疑似胡塞武装针对该地区一艘商船的无人机。这是自1991年海湾战争以来，英国皇家海军首次击落空中目标。

2023年5月2日，英国驱逐舰“钻石”号从英国伦敦附近起航。（图片来源：Carl Court/Getty Images）

“这是一个国际问题，需要国际解决方案。正因如此，‘钻石’号军舰加入了‘繁荣卫士行动’，”国防大臣格兰特·沙普斯在宣布与该安全组织合作时说道。

英国军队已在该地区部署了一支小型舰队。例如，英国军方在巴林设有一个舰队，其中包括“兰开斯特”号护卫舰、三艘扫雷舰和一艘皇家舰队辅助舰。

意大利国防部在一份声明中表示，意大利将派遣多用途护卫舰“维尔吉尼奥·法桑”号前往红海，以尽其所能打击“破坏稳定的恐怖活动”。

意大利国防部长圭多·克罗塞托和奥斯汀周二通过视频通话讨论了海上安全问题，包括如何保障航运路线，以避免对经济造成影响和对大宗商品价格造成“危险冲击”。

克罗塞托在声明中表示：“有必要加强在该地区的存在，以创造稳定的条件，避免环境灾难，并避免通货膨胀再次抬头。”

法国海军在12月15日的一份声明中表示，法国多用途护卫舰“朗格多克”号自12月8日起一直在亚丁湾和红海南部海域巡逻，以确保航行自由。

“朗格多克”号护卫舰在巡逻任务的第二天，击落了两架来自也门方向、疑似带有敌对意图的无人机。据海军方面称，12月11日，该护卫舰摧毁了一架威胁挪威油轮“斯特林达”号的无人机，随后迅速出动保护这艘遇险油轮，防止其被劫持。“斯特林达”号上的火灾被迅速控制，无人伤亡。

挪威国防部表示，挪威将向联合海上部队派遣多达 10 名参谋人员。

国防部发言人玛丽塔·伊萨克森·旺伯格告诉《防务新闻》，该国不会派遣任何舰艇。

荷兰计划向此次行动派遣两名参谋人员。海军发言人亚历克斯·克拉嫩堡告诉《防务新闻》，荷兰目前在该地区没有任何舰艇，舰艇派遣事宜仍在评估中。

西班牙国防部发言人努里亚·费尔南德斯·德拉富恩特告诉《防务新闻》，西班牙尚未决定是否参与“繁荣卫士行动”。她补充说，西班牙的任何参与都不会是单方面的，而是在北约或欧盟的框架内进行的。

梅根·埃克斯坦是《防务新闻》的海军作战记者。自2009年以来，她一直从事军事新闻报道，主要关注美国海军和海军陆战队的行动、采购项目和预算。她曾报道过四个不同地理区域的舰队，最喜欢在舰艇上进行新闻报道。梅根毕业于马里兰大学。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。