Italian Navy shoots down 2 drones in Red Sea

ROME

An Italian warship has shot down two drones in the Red Sea, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.

Italian torpedo boat Caio Duilio, a destroyer, shot down the drones as part of the recently launched European mission Aspides, aimed at protecting merchant ships in the Red Sea from Yemen’s Houthi group's attacks.

“Congratulations to the crew of Caio Duilio. The Italian Navy guarantees the freedom of navigation and protects our merchant ships. We are proud of our sailors,” Tajani said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Italy has the military leadership of the Aspides mission which was launched last month and the headquarters of the mission are hosted on the Caio Duilio warship.

Tajani has said on several occasions that the Italian economy can be severely hurt by the continuous Houthi attacks on western ships navigating in the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.

His comments were echoed also by Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who said last month that the Red Sea represents a crucial maritime path connecting Asia to Europe, where around one-sixth of world trade, an important share of hydrocarbons and 40% of Italian traded goods transit.

The Italian Defense Ministry said the shootdown of the drones was an act of self-defense, according to Italian media reports.

Italy’s Defense Ministry couldn’t immediately be reached for additional comment.