For the first time, the US Navy deploys F-35 aircraft in combat missions against the Houthis in Yemen

An American military website spoke about the US Navy's use of F-35C aircraft in combat missions against the Houthis in Yemen, noting that this is the first combat use of the F-35C aircraft version.

The War Zone website said in a report translated by "Yemeni Youth Net" that the F-35C aircraft of the US aircraft carrier VMFA-314 , along with the rest of the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, appear to be "ready to continue the engagement against the Houthis."

He noted that the Marine Corps strikes with F-35Cs "appear to be one of the first, if not the first, combat sorties of carrier-based F-35s belonging to either the Marine Corps or the US Navy."

U.S. Central Command forces conducted a series of precision airstrikes between November 9 and 10 on multiple Houthi weapons storage facilities located within Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.

These facilities included a variety of advanced conventional weapons used by the Iran-backed Houthis to target US and international military and civilian vessels sailing in international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

According to the Pentagon spokesman, the F-35C aircraft operated by the Marines took off from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln ( CVN-72 ) and participated in airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in northern Yemen.

US Air Force and Navy assets, including F-35C fighter jets, participated in the operation.. "- Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said.

The report noted that General Ryder’s comment that the F-35Cs were Navy aircraft appears to be incorrect and that they were in fact Marines. A video released by U.S. Central Command shows an F-35C , an F/A-18F Super Hornet , and an EA-18G Growler taking off from the carrier as part of the strikes on Nov. 9 and 10.

However, the only F-35C unit currently on board the Abraham Lincoln is Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 ( VWFA-314 )—the “Black Knights.” This suggests that the Navy has yet to use its F-35Cs in combat.

So far, the aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson ( CVN-70 ), USS Abraham Lincoln ( CVN-72 ), USS George Washington ( CVN-73 ), and possibly USS Theodore Roosevelt ( CVN-71 ) have been certified to carry the F-35C .

Few details are known about the strike on the Houthis — or what munitions the F-35Cs were carrying, according to the report. No external weapons were seen on the F-35Cs in the video released by U.S. Central Command.

He said that US military operations in and around the Red Sea against the Houthis have already resulted in a number of first achievements in the field of naval aviation, and it is unfortunate that the crisis shows no signs of abating.

Following strikes by F-35Cs and other aircraft over the weekend, the Houthis launched a barrage of anti-ship ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, as well as explosive-laden drones, against two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers part of the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group.

On Wednesday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had carried out a series of precision airstrikes on several weapons storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on November 9 and 10.

These facilities contain a range of advanced conventional weapons used by the Iran-backed Houthis to target US and international military and civilian vessels sailing in international waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, CENTCOM added in a statement.

The statement indicated that the operation included the participation of forces from the US Air Force and Navy, including an F-35C aircraft, explaining that this preemptive operation was carried out in response to repeated and illegal attacks by the Houthis on international commercial shipping, as well as on ships belonging to the United States, the coalition, and commercial ships in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, and aims to reduce the Houthis' ability to threaten regional partners.