A French admiral admits to exorbitant costs of missile defense operations in the Red Sea

Follow-ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

Although French ships have not been among the targets of the Yemeni forces during their operations in the Red Sea in support of Gaza, recent French reports have revealed the scale of the substantial expenditure incurred by Paris as a result of its participation in naval defensive operations, within the framework of the European mission “ASPIDES,” to intercept Yemeni missiles and drones that targeted vessels linked to Israel, the US, and Britain.

French Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, the former commander of naval aviation and former head of planning and programs for the French Navy, confirmed that the naval forces launched more than 20 “Aster” missiles during their deployment in the Red Sea, according to “Naval News,” a website specializing in naval affairs.

According to available data, the cost of a single missile of this type ranges between two and three million dollars, meaning that France spent at least 40 to 60 million dollars on missile defense operations alone, not including operational and maintenance expenses.

These figures highlight the significant financial burden borne by the Western forces in their attempt to counter relatively low-cost attacks in terms of the missiles and drones used by the Yemeni forces, which, despite limited resources, have managed to impose strategic and economic pressure on their adversaries, who have failed to achieve their objectives.

The American magazine “Maritime Executive” had previously revealed that the British destroyer “Diamond” spent approximately 25 million dollars on interceptor missiles during just two months of its deployment in the Red Sea in early 2024, in a scene that reflects the extent of the depletion to which Western defense arsenals were exposed.

According to American reports, the US Navy was also forced to launch hundreds of expensive missiles, causing a severe shortage in its defensive stockpiles and prompting many countries participating in the operations to gradually reduce their presence in the region.

At a time when French ships were not part of the Sana’a forces’ target bank, Paris’s participation in the European defensive operations, and the subsequent massive military expenditure, raised questions within Western circles about the feasibility of participating in a war of attrition that does not serve their direct interests.