The drone attack fired a Sea Viper missile to shoot down the target (Photo: AP)

A Royal Navy warship has shot down a suspected attack drone targeting merchant ships in the Red Sea, the Defense Secretary said.

Grant Shapps said HMS Diamond, an air defense ship, fired a Sea Viper missile at the drone during the night and “destroyed the target”.

Cargo ships in the waters off the Arabian Peninsula have recently been the subject of drone attacks from nearby Houthi rebel areas in Yemen.

HMS Diamond was deployed to the region just two weeks ago to help protect shipping lanes amid growing international concerns about security threats.

“The ship recently arrived in the region to strengthen international efforts to maintain maritime security,” Mr Shapps wrote in a statement to X.

“The recent wave of illegal attacks poses a direct threat to international trade and maritime security in the Red Sea.

“The UK remains committed to deterring these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade.”

HMS Diamond, a Royal Navy air defense destroyer, shot down an attack drone in the Red Sea (Photo: PA)

Pictures have been captured of the moment HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile to shoot down the drone (Photo: AP)

Pictures have been captured of the moment HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile to shoot down the drone (Photo: AP)

This comes after the Bahamas-flagged Unity Explorer, owned by a British company, was one of three merchant ships targeted in an attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels earlier this month.

The Red Sea is located between North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.

On Friday, Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, asked all its ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to “suspend their voyages until further notice” after a missile attack on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship.

The incident is believed to be the first time the Royal Navy has shot down an air target in anger since the First Gulf War in 1991.

Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Britain “remains committed to deterring these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade” (Photo: Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)

Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Britain “remains committed to deterring these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade” (Photo: Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)

Admiral Sir Ben Key, the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, said: “One sixth of the world’s merchant ships pass through the Bab-al-Mandeb and the Red Sea.”

“The RN is committed to upholding the right to freely use the oceans and we will not tolerate indiscriminate threats or attacks against those conducting their lawful activities on the high seas.”

The Defense Ministry has not said who was behind the attack.

But Yemen’s Houthis are behind a series of attacks on ships in the Red Sea, firing drones and missiles at Israel in response to the war against Hamas in Gaza.

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