The U.S. is joining a taskforce to protect ships from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea

The U.S. will be part of a task force to protect ships in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks launched from Yemen. The threat has forced some shipping companies to avoid the area altogether.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The U.S. is joining a new force to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea. The ships have faced attacks for weeks launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The threat from drones and missiles has forced some shipping companies to avoid the area altogether. For more on the impact of these attacks, including on the global economy, we are joined by NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman – hey, Tom…

TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.

KELLY: …And NPR business correspondent David Gura. Hi, David.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.

KELLY: Tom, kick us off. Explain what this new – is this a protection force? What is it? What’s it going to do?

BOWMAN: Right. Well, first of all, naval task forces have been used before. Five years ago, there was one in the Persian Gulf by the U.S. and Great Britain to escort oil tankers amid tensions with Iran and, before that, off Somalia, you might remember, to ward off pirates. This one, Mary Louise, will be more dangerous because of the repeated attacks on commercial ships and the firepower – long-range missiles and drones fired by the Houthis. We’ve already seen a number of tankers damaged, but no one has been killed.

So the task force will provide sort of an umbrella coverage to the area to assist the ships. You’re not going to see escorts individually. But, of course, the warships would shoot down any of the threats and then come to their aid if necessary. Now, there’s less of a risk to the warships. They’re very sophisticated, with radar, an array of weapons. They can see, track and destroy drones from miles – many miles away. And a number of those fired by the Houthis, by the way – they just fall into the water.

KELLY: OK, so that’s how this looks from a national…