A video shared on X purports to show missiles from a German warship recently exploding in the Red Sea.

Germany army is not really ready to fight Yemen🤣

Missiles from the German frigate explode in the Red Sea before being launched pic.twitter.com/hGblzxzIWp

— Freedom Truth Honor 🇺🇳 (@FreedomHonor666) March 2, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

The claim is misleading. The original video, uploaded to YouTube in 2018, shows an accident sustained by a German warship in the North Atlantic after it fired an anti-aircraft missile.

Fact Check:

Germany’s Hessen warship accidentally tried to shoot down the American combat drone MQ-9 during a recent mission near the Red Sea, according to Business Insider. Although the warship fired multiple missiles at the drone, they “did not reach the system due to a technical error in the warship’s radar system,” the outlet reported.

The X video, viewed over 200,000 times, purports to show missiles from a German warship recently exploding in the Red Sea. “Germany [sic] army is not really ready to fight Yemen [sic] Missiles from the German frigate explode in the Red Sea before being launched,” the X video’s caption reads.

The claim is misleading, however. The original video, uploaded to YouTube in 2018, shows an accident sustained by a German warship in the North Atlantic after it fired an anti-aircraft missile.

“Shocking moment on board a German warship in the North Atlantic! The German frigate ‘Sachsen’ suffered a serious accident off the coast of Norway when it fired an anti-aircraft missile on June 21st,” a translation of the video’s caption reads.

Likewise, Misbar also debunked the claim in a Mar. 4 article, labeling it as misleading. In addition, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defense has not publicly referenced the claim on its website. (RELATED: Does Video Show Recent Transport Of Nuclear Weapons In Russia?)

Although the video is from 2018, a German warship recently “shot down two drones in the Red Sea amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthis,” Reuters reported on Feb. 28.

Check Your Fact has contacted Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defense for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.