HMS Diamond displays kill markings after shooting down nine Houthi drones in Red Sea

HMS Diamond, the Royal Navy's 'jewel in the naval crown', is alongside in Gibraltar and is now adorned with drone 'kill marks' after thwarting attacks in the Red Sea.

In December, the Royal Navy Type 45 air defence destroyer joined Operation Prosperity Guardian, an international task force to protect merchant shipping in the region, and maintained a near-constant presence in a high-threat area of the Red Sea.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) confirmed that the destroyer came under fire in three separate attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, and successfully destroyed nine drones using her Sea Viper missile system and guns.

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The successful drone destructions are now marked on the vessel, with the silhouettes of the downed technology painted onto the bridge.

X/Twitter user Michael J Sanchez, (@key2med), posted the close-up image of HMS Diamond's nine markings.

The first seven drones in the image appear to show the Samad-2 kamikaze drones, with the eighth silhouette appearing to be a Shahed-136 drone, known more recently for its increased role in the war in Ukraine.

The twin tail booms silhouette and ninth drone appears to be a Mersad-2 VTOL recce drone.

HMS Diamond will now undergo a period of maintenance and resupply as HMS Richmond takes over her mission, "to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea" said the Royal Navy.

Richmond left Plymouth at the beginning of January with a crew of 200 sailors and Royal Marines.

She has a Sea Ceptor missile system, capable of protecting shipping spread out across an area of some 500 square miles of ocean.

HMS Richmond is also armed with a range of medium guns, machine guns, small arms, torpedoes, a Royal Marines boarding team, and a Wildcat helicopter which can search vast areas on patrols for hostile threats on the water.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps recently praised the Type 45 air defence destroyer, HMS Diamond for her work in the Red Sea.

Writing in the Express, he said he was privileged to have seen "one of the crown jewels of the British forces" in person, adding that "HMS Diamond is a testament to British investment, initiative and inspiration".

Mr Shapps was welcomed on board the highly capable vessel to discuss her ongoing mission in the region.

HMS Diamond has sailed nearly 20,000 nautical miles on patrols since leaving Portsmouth at the end of November – almost enough to carry her around the globe – while her Wildcat helicopter has flown more than 53 hours of sorties over the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.