--- title: "British Destroyer Rearming In Gibraltar, Heading Back To Red Sea" description: "HMS *Diamond*, the Type 45 destroyer [that shot down multiple Houthi drones]() while [spending months on patrol]() around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, has been reloaded with surface-to-air missiles and is supposedly going to head back to the troubled region soon.…" date: "2024-02-26" modified: "2024-02-26" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway" url: "https://www.twz.com/sea/british-destroyer-rearming-in-gibraltar-heading-back-to-red-sea" categories: - "Around The Globe" - "Destroyers" - "Maritime Surface-To-Air Missiles" - "Middle East" - "Naval Munitions" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Red Sea" - "Royal Navy" - "Sea" - "Terrorism" - "Yemen" --- # British Destroyer Rearming In Gibraltar, Heading Back To Red Sea ![Sea Viper missiles being loaded onto HMS Diamond]() *Sea Viper missiles being loaded onto HMS Diamond* HMS *Diamond*, the Type 45 destroyer [that shot down multiple Houthi drones]() while [spending months on patrol]() around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, has been reloaded with surface-to-air missiles and is supposedly going to head back to the troubled region soon. The news comes just a couple weeks after the warship had docked in Gibraltar after being relieved on station by the less capable Type 23 Frigate HMS *Richmond*. At the time, it was reported that HMS *Diamond* would return home to Portsmouth after a months-long deployment. Now it seems it is heading back into the chaos of the Red Sea region with its magazines fully reloaded and her bridge [wings still adorned with drone 'kill markings.']() Images of the ship being replenished with missiles come from us from [Michael Sanchez](), who keeps a close eye on naval happenings at and in the vicinity of Gibraltar, and William Jardim. It shows the vertical launch cells on the ship's bow being reloaded via a crane with [Sea Viper]() all-up rounds. ![]() **Michael J Sanchez/@key2med** ![]() **William Jardim** ![]() **William Jardim** ![]() **William Jardim** Apparently, the ship has stayed in Gibraltar since arriving there two weeks ago, with its crew getting much-needed rest and the ship being fully replenished and serviced before heading back to its previous station. As to why she was replenished thousands of miles away, our friends over at [*Navy Lookout* state]() the following: *"It’s about 3,000 miles from the southern Red Sea to Gibraltar and it may seem surprising that HMS* Diamond *was not replenished in theatre at a nearby port such as Salalah or Duqm. The main reason is that* Diamond *needed to embark more Sea Viper missiles which have to be stored securely and handled by experts, ideally on British territory. This is not something that can be easily done in Oman and Gib\[*raltar*\] has underground weapon storage facilities, dating back centuries that are suitable for holding stocks of these expensive and sensitive weapons. In mid-December, the MoD had already anticipated this requirement and delivered a couple of batches of Sea Vipers to Gib from the UK onboard [Point class]() ro-ro vessels."* Replenishing warships' larger missiles at sea is not a common capability, which is a major[ weakness the U.S. Navy is looking to correct]() in the coming years. https://twitter.com/EngageStrategy1/status/1755545695153541373?s=20 HMS *Diamond* has played a key role in the international task force known as [Operation Prosperity Guardian](), which is in place to protect merchant shipping from attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen. The ship also works to detect and interdict weapons smuggling — [including components of the same kinds]() of drones that were being launched at it — from Iran to its Houthi proxies in Yemen. The destroyer, which boasts a crew of 200 sailors and Royal Marines, shot down [nine drones via Sea Viper missiles and guns]() during its time around the Red Sea, which lasted from November to earlier this month. This is part of a larger number of engagements that have seen U.S. warships [fire around 100 Standard series missiles]() at [Houthi anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles](), as well as drones. The crisis in the region marks the first use of anti-ship ballistic missiles in anger. The Type 45 British destroyer is [now set to receive ballistic missile defense capabilities]() in the coming years. ![]() Whilst in Gibraltar, HMS *Diamond* was visited by U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Schapps to thank the ship’s crew for their work to help protect merchant shipping from Houthi attacks. https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1760356111822082468?s=20 As for those attacks, despite repeated strikes against Houthi rebels by British and American forces, including [another round just this past weekend](), they have shown no sign of stopping. One of those onslaughts against commercial shipping [have put a cargo ship at risk of sinking]() and causing an ecological disaster in the region. https://twitter.com/thewarzonewire/status/1760394498734211309?s=20 https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1761512889230479860 https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1761578794316640669 More naval vessels are now headed to the region in the form of a European Union maritime coalition [under the name Operation Aspides (Shield)]() that will work alongside those vessels executing Operation Prosperity Guardian, but not under the same command structure. With HMS *Diamond* supposedly heading back into the fight, there will be more of an advanced warship presence around the Bab el-Mandeb than at any time since this conflict kicked off following the attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7. *Author's note: A huge thanks to William Jardim for helping with this report.* *Contact the author: [tyler@twz.com]()* ## Author Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day. ### Author social links [Twitter]()