A French Navy frigate brought down a ballistic missile while accompanying the Belgian Navy minehunter BNS Primula near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in mid-October.
The incident was first reported by the Belgian newspaper De Morgen on October 26, citing unnamed sources. Later that day, Belgian defence authorities confirmed the interception to VRT NWS, which placed the engagement around October 14.
The French Armed Forces General Staff (EMA) confirmed on October 27 that a French frigate had detected and intercepted the missile while escorting a Belgian Tripartite-class minehunter. The EMA dated the engagement to October 13, described it as strictly defensive, and said the missile's final trajectory had not been determined.
No casualties or damage were reported. Initial Belgian accounts said there was no indication that Primula was the intended target.
The missile is suspected to have been launched by Houthi forces, who had not announced a reason for the firing.
French authorities were investigating the incident and limiting the information released, according to VRT NWS. The identity of the French frigate has not been disclosed.
Primula has no self-defence capabilities and depends on escorts equipped to detect and engage aerial threats.
Primula left Zeebruges with the Royal Netherlands Navy’s HNLMS Willemstad on May 28 to join Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two in the Mediterranean, and has operated south of the Arabian Peninsula since the summer. The Belgian ship is standing by for a possible mine clearance mission in the Strait of Hormuz, pending political approval.
