Captain Jérôme Henry has been the commander of the multi-mission frigate (FREMM)
Alsace since July 2023. He has returned from a 71-day mission in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, where his ship escorted
attacked
commercial ships.
by the Houthi rebels
, as part of the European operation ASPIDES.
LE FIGARO.- You have returned from several weeks of mission in the Red Sea, aboard the frigate
Alsace
. You who were on the front line, how do you describe the situation there? What threat do the Houthis really pose?
We did not necessarily expect this level of threat. There was an uninhibited violence that was quite surprising and very significant. The Houthis do not hesitate to use drones that fly at water level, to explode them on commercial ships, and to fire ballistic missiles. We had to provide at least half a dozen assistances following Houthi strikes. We noticed major fires…