The U.S. shot down at least 11 Houthi drones late Friday, including several that were getting ready to launch over the Red Sea and others that were already in the air.

U.S. forces conducted strikes against four Houthi “unmanned aerial vehicles” that were “prepared to launch,” late Friday afternoon, the US Central Command announced on X Saturday.

“U.S. forces identified the UAVs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region,” the statement read. “U.S. forces subsequently struck and destroyed the UAVs in self-defense.”

Later Friday night, a US missile cruiser with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group shot down seven additional drones over the Red Sea, CENTCOM added.

There were no injuries or damage from the action, according to the official statement.

US forces are jockeying with Houthi militants in the Red Sea, a key global shipping route where the terrorists have targeted at least 30 merchant vessels in recent months, significantly disrupting trade.

The Houthis’ strikes started on Nov. 19, supposedly in retaliation for Israel’s ground operations in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7.

“These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels,” the announcement said.

The drone attacks came just one day after a Houthi missile got so close to a US warship in the Red Sea that it triggered its Close-In Weapons System, known as the last-line of defense.

Last month, a top US Navy official said that Iran is “directly involved” in the Houthi aggression. 

The Red Sea skirmishes are part of a larger web of tension in the Middle East – much of which centers on Tehran allegedly backing terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Also on Friday, the US launched retaliatory attacks on over 85 targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and related militias in Iraq and Syria.

With Post wires