The aircraft carrier's deployment demonstrated the growing threat of enemy drones, and it spotlighted the role of social media propaganda in warfare.
Sailors stand on the bridge aboard the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier during its seven month long deployment to the Red Sea.
The carrier's F-18 Super Hornets executed more than 400 bombing missions, often targeting a significant new threat — enemy drones. The fighter jets shot down around 60 drones launched by the Iranian backed group.In addition, they found themselves mainly trying to thwart attacks on other vessels in the area, rather than attacks on the Eisenhower itself.Because of the constant threat, the crew of the carrier saw only two port calls over the nine month deployment.
Another first: To improve morale, the carrier was equipped with ship-wide wifi for the first time. That allowed Hill to become a minor celebrity on social media. He initially just posted about Navy life — like Taco Tuesday — and posted photos of individual sailors, so their families could see they were safe.
The ability of the Navy to respond quickly to social media misinformation has become an important part of the mission, according to Bryan Clark, a former naval officer who is now with the Hudson Institute. Meanwhile, Clark said the Navy has a number of high tech weapons in the pipeline, such as lasers, to lower the cost of battling relatively cheap, low tech drones and missiles, like those provided to the Houthis by Iran. The Navy also could take advantage of off-the-shelf technology the Army is already using.
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