President Joe Biden said he ordered the strikes as a "defensive action" in response to "unprecedented Houthi attacks" on international shipping vessels in vital waterways.
The Iran-backed militant group has carried out more than two dozen attacks on international commercial shipping since last November, causing vessels to divert from the Red Sea, a vital shipping corridor that connects to the Suez Canal, and instead take longer routes that add thousands of miles.
Over 100 precision-guided munitions were used on more than 60 Houthi targets in Yemen, US Air Forces Central Commander Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich said Thursday. A senior US military official told CNN that precision-guided munitions were used to destroy targets and "minimize collateral damage."
The US and its allies hit targets that are "military objectives," a US defense official told Business Insider. Among the targets were command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems, Grynkewich said.
Here's what we know about the weapons the US and UK forces — with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands — used in the retaliatory strike.
Typhoon fighter jets from the UK
A British Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft flies in Coningsby, England.
The multirole combat aircraft can reach speeds of up to Mach 1.8 — more than 1,300 mph — and has a maximum altitude of 55,000 feet. Alongside precision guided bombs, the Typhoon's payload is also capable of carrying air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.
The Typhoon fighters targeted two Houthi facilities — an airfield used to launch cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea and another site used to launch reconnaissance and attack drones.
The fighters were accompanied by a Voyager air refueling tanker, which allows the aircraft to fly longer distances.
SSGN Florida
The USS Florida sails off the coast of the Bahamas.
David Nagle/U.S. Navy/Getty Images
The USS Florida is a nuclear-powered submarine, originally an Ohio-class ballistic submarine before being converted in 2006.
The 560-foot submarine is armed with up to 154 Tomahawk land attack missiles and four torpedo tubes. When submerged, it can travel at more than 23 miles per hour.
US Navy ships and submarines are usually equipped with Tomahawk guided missiles, which can hit targets more than 1,000 miles away. More than 80 Tomahawks were used as part of the strike against Houthi rebels, though it wasn't immediately clear how many came from the USS Florida.
F/A-18 Super Hornet
An F/A-18F Super Hornet launches off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly M. Agee/Released
Like the Typhoon, the Super Hornet is a twin-engine supersonic fighter jet. The carrier-capable F/A-18 is armed with a 20mm rotary cannon and can carry a range of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, among other weapons.
In this handout provided by the U.S. Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) transits the Strait of Gibraltar June 13, 2016 into the Mediterranean Sea.
The Carrier Air Wing 3, one of the oldest air wings in the Navy, operates on the Ike, with F/A-18 Super Hornet, E-2 Hawkeye, and EA-18G Growler squadrons aboard.
Guided-missile destroyers
Guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon departs the Marathi NATO pier facility in Greece.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
The Eisenhower is also accompanied by at least four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the USS Gravely, USS Mason, USS Carney, and USS Laboon.
The destroyers can each carry up to 90 Tomahawk missiles.
The USS Philippine Sea, a guided missile cruiser, is also present in the Red Sea.
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