This information comes in a timely manner. US and British warships shot down drones launched by the Houthis from Yemen early Saturday morning local time, underscoring the latest escalation in attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea.

The USS Carney guided-missile destroyer shot down 14 drones today, a US military official told The War Zone. British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said the HMS Diamond-45 destroyer shot down a suicide drone that was on its way to attack ships commerce in the Red Sea, using the Sea Viper missile.

It was the first time the Royal Navy had downed an air target since the first Gulf War in 1991 when the Type 42 destroyer HMS Gloucester destroyed an Iraqi Silkworm missile on its way to hit a US warship.

The two destroyers, which were in continuous contact, shot down the drones during a 45-minute attack wave near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said that while the British say the drones were on their way to attack a merchant ship, the destroyer Carney intercepted the drones because there were too many of them in the air at once and they were considered a threat to the ship.

The official declined to reveal the weapons used by the Kerni destroyer because the United States does not want the Houthis to know about their capabilities.

In a tweet, the US military's Central Command said that the drones were "shot down without causing damage to ships in the area or any casualties." Regional partners in the Red Sea were put on alert following the threat."

Houthi spokesman Yahya Sari said today that the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels launched a wave of drones at Israel, but he did not mention any of the warships.

Today's drone interception comes a day after the Houthis set fire to two cargo ships in the Red Sea and threatened a third. Two of the world's largest shipping companies, Maersk and Pegg-Lloyd, said they had temporarily suspended Red Sea transit as a result of the Houthi attacks.

Austin, who will visit the region early next week with Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Chief General Brown, will announce Operation Prosperity Ranger, which will be similar to the current Task Force 153, the official said. This is an international effort focused on achieving maritime security and building international response capacity in the Red Sea, the Egyptian Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden."

The official did not specify how many countries would participate or what exact tasks they would perform during patrols in the Red Sea against the Houthi threats.

British Shapps noted on Saturday that the destroyer Diamond recently arrived in the Red Sea "to strengthen international efforts to maintain maritime security", as he previously reported.

Shapps said: "The latest wave of illegal attacks represents a direct threat to international trade and maritime security in the Red Sea. The UK remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect sea lanes open to global trade."