Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
A US warship came within seconds of being struck by a Houthi missile on Tuesday, officials said, underlining the dangerous threat that the well-armed Iran-backed militia poses to the US-led naval coalition in the Red Sea.
Four US officials told CNN that a “close-in weapon system”, better known as Phalanx, shot down the anti-ship missile around “one mile” (1.6km) from the USS Gravely.
Houthi cruise missiles such as the Al Mandeb 2 are thought to have a speed of around 1,100kph, or about 300 metres per second. If the missile was around 1.6km from the USS Gravely, as reported, it could have been as close as five seconds away from hitting the ship.
A direct hit on the warship could have led to the death of more US servicemen in the Middle East just days after three soldiers were killed in an attack in Jordan.
The region is on high alert as the spillover from the Israel-Gaza war threatens to escalate into a regional war between the US and Iran and its allies, including the Houthis in Yemen and Iraqi militias such as the one that claimed the attack in Jordan.
This latest incident in the Red Sea could have further stoked tensions if the USS Gravely's Phalanx system had not kicked in.
US naval defences
The Phalanx system is the last line of defence for US warships and aircraft carriers.
It consists of a Gatling gun that can fire a stream of 4,500 shells per minute to a range of around 3km.
Phalanx spots low-flying missiles with a high-resolution infrared camera that detects heat from their engines and two radar systems, one that detects a missile at distance and one that tracks it at close range, sending data to its gun.
In ideal conditions, warships in a US carrier group are protected by several layers of early-warning systems before they resort to using the Phalanx.
These range from satellites that can detect missile launches and calculate the intended target and type of missile, to airborne and ship-based early-warning and detection systems.
The satellites monitoring thermal radiation on Earth will relay launch positions to US missile defences, while E-2 Hawkeye early-warning aircraft radar can detect cruise missiles flying low over the sea several hundreds of kilometres from their target.
Available fighter jets can then be directed to shoot the missiles down with AIM-9X air-to-air missiles; US F-18 Super Hornets appear to have been used in this role during the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian.
If the missile closes in, warships can detect its built-in guidance radar, before the Aegis Combat System, which can track 100 targets, simultaneously “illuminates” the missile with its SPY-1 radar, which is carried by the USS Gravely.
Warships can then fire advanced SM-6 missiles – costing nearly $5 million each – at the inbound threat, destroying it many hundreds of kilometres away. In a test in 2014, a cruise missile was “killed” by the SM-6 at 800km.
If this fails, the ships can fire Evolved SeaSparrow missiles, which have a range of around 50km but according to the US, interceptions at around 10km are common.
Warships can also use a combination of decoy drones to confuse the missile’s on-board radar, which actively seeks ships to target, or the Phalanx system at the final line of defence.
It’s unclear why the above measures failed until the last line of defence. However, on Wednesday the Houthis said they had launched a volley of missiles at a commercial vessel, the Liberian-flagged KOI, suggesting the group can still launch multiple projectiles to overwhelm US defences.
The Houthis have continued attacks against vessels in the Red Sea despite US and UK air strikes on the group's military sites in Yemen.
Their campaign against shipping has caused major disruption to global trade, forcing international shipping companies to reroute cargo ships away from the waterway.
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PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
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Amount raised: $3m
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Second Test
In Dubai
Pakistan 418-5 (declared)
New Zealand 90 and 131-2 (follow on)
Day 3: New Zealand trail by 197 runs with 8 wickets remaining
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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