Illustrative image.
The Houthis (Ansar Allah) have released video footage showing the moment an MQ-9 Reaper combat drone of the United States military was shot down by their air defenses over the northern Yemeni province of al-Jawf on November 8.
MQ-9 combat drones, which cost upwards of $30 million per a unit, are primarily used to collect intelligence, but have the ability to conduct pinpoint strikes. The advanced drones can operate for more than 27 hours and reach altitudes of over 25,000 feet.
The Houthis said that the U.S. military drone was shot down by the group while it was conducting “hostile operations” over the town of Yatima in al-Jawf.
In the same statement announcing the downing of the drone, the group said that it had fired a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile at Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces claimed that the missile was intercepted.
The Houthis may have used one of their medium-range anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down the drone. These missiles are the Fater-1, a copy of the Soviet-made 3M9 used in the Kub system with a range a little bit over 22 kilometers, the Barq-1 and 2, both are thought to be derivative of the Iranian-made Taer-2 with a range of 50 and 70 kilometers respectively.
It is also possible that the group used a missile-drone hybrid identified by the U.S. military and intelligence as type 358. The weapon, which was spotted in Yemen before, is said to have a range of 150 kilometers.
The drone was the 12th of its kind to be shot down by the Houthis over Yemen since the group began a confrontation with Israel, the U.S. and the United Kingdom over the Israeli war and siege on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip in November of last year.
In addition to shooting down these drones, the Houthis targeted more than 200 vessels affiliated with Israel or owned by the U.S. and the UK in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The group also launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on Israeli territories.
The U.S. and the UK have carried out hundreds of strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen since January. Israel also launched two waves of strikes against civilian infrastructure in al-Hodeidah in July and September. However, the aerial campaign failed to deter the Houthis or degrade their capabilities.
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general atomics will have to send the houthis a bonus. they’ll be rubbing their hands together $$$$
it needs just a strong mind to be a sane human, to be able to conquer the stongest militaries an economics in this world… and win!
the houtis show us how to be humans. my deepest respect!
could they also punish the thraitors, jordan, quatar, saoudi arabia ?
how about uae as well.