Newly recruited Houthi fighters attend a protest march against the U.S.-led strikes on Yemen that have ebbed and flowed since Oct. 7, 2023. (AP/Osamah Abdulrahman)
"I had not been thoughtful enough to think about the UAV threat, where I think a much lesser-powered weapon would have done what we needed it to do," Kilby said.
He promised the Navy was now working to overhaul its costly defense tactics with "much more cost-effective" technologies to counter autonomous vehicles in the Red Sea, as he called on the defense industry to more quickly produce munitions for the mission.
"We have to get after our industrial base or munitions industrial base the same way we have to get after our shipbuilding industrial base," said Kilby.
When asked if the Navy had enough munitions to counter the Houthi threat, Kilby replied, "I think we need more munitions."
"We certainly need more depth of magazine, if we’re going to get into a protracted conflict."
Central Command releases an image of a ship firing at Houthis last month. (U.S. Central Command/Handout via Reuters)
The LSM program, viewed by many as crucial to moving Marines around remote islands in the Indo-Pacific in the event of conflict with China, has been plagued by delays, with work on the program stalling late last year.
The vessel is envisioned to be able to transport forces right onto a beach without any port access, where they would be able to fire anti-ship cruise missiles and collect intelligence.
Kilby said Navy and Marine Corps leadership are now looking to get approval to procure a ship to enter the testing phase of such a vessel.
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"We're going to go through we'll look at those requirements, make sure we produce a ship that can meet the needs of the Marine Corps and support their force design. But I'm thankful we're doing it now not when our ship's in construction. So I'm optimistic here. And we need that. You know, we need to have this expedition."
Kilby also laid out his goals for sailor recruitment shortfalls. "I’ll take that 23,000-person gap, make it 18,000 this year and 8,000 the next year."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/navy-kilby-houthi-missiles-red-sea-costs