FACT CHECK: No, The USS Eisenhower Was Not Targeted By The Houthis In August

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A post shared on X claims that the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was targeted in August 2024 by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Verdict: False

The Eisenhower is currently near Virginia, 11,000 kilometers away from the Red Sea and out of the range of any Houthi weapons.

Fact Check:

Social media users have been sharing claims that the Houthis targeted the Eisenhower twice in 24 hours. One user wrote, “The American Eisenhower aircraft carrier was targeted by #Yemen for second time in the last 24 hours.”

There is no evidence for this claim. If the Eisenhower had been targeted, media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. The Pentagon has also not released any information on a claimed attack.

The Eisenhower returned to Norfolk, Virginia in July 2024 after a nine-month deployment, according to a U.S. Navy press release. The Eisenhower is currently located there, according to USNI News.

Norfolk is almost 7,300 miles or 11,000 kilometers away from Yemen, according to TravelMath. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) published a report about Iranian weapons used by the Houthis. The longest-ranged weapon in the Houthi arsenal appears to be the Shaded-136 one-way attack drone, which has a range of 2,500 kilometers.

The Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance’s list of Houthi ballistic and cruise missiles does not list any missile with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers. The DIA’s report states that the Houthis have Quds-4 land-attack cruise missiles that have a claimed range of 2,000 kilometers. Therefore, it is quite unlikely that the Houthis were able to target the Eisenhower off the coast of Virginia.

The claim appears to have originated from a previous Houthi claim in June 2024, where they claimed to have struck the Eisenhower. This claim was false, and the Houthis have a history of false claims of hitting U.S. warships, according to previous Check Your Fact reporting.

The Houthis have not posted any recent claims about the Eisenhower on its website or social media accounts. The group recently posted a video of them boarding and detonating charges on the Sounion, a Greek-flagged oil tanker.

The Sounion was attacked by Houthi vessels, which led to the ship losing engine power and the crew evacuated, according to The New York Times. (RELATED: Video Claims To Show Tanker Hit By Houthis)

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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