On January 11, the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted a “ballistic” missile launched by the Houthis with the MIM-104 Patriot air defense system over the southwestern city of Najran, according to the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV.
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A video released by local Saudi activists shows that the missile was successfully intercepted with two Patriot missiles.
From its side, the Houthis media wing confirmed that the Houthis launched a “Qaher-M2” missile at a military base of the Saudi Special Forces around Najran. The main target of the missile was a field airport inside the military base that’s usually used by Saudi Apache helicopters, according to the source.
The Qaher-M2 is a Soviet-made S-75 surface-to-air missile that had been modified by the Houthis into a surface-to-surface missile, likely with help from Iranian experts. According to the Houthis’ claims, the modified missile has a range of up to 400km and the circular error probable (CEP) of 5-10meters.
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The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted a similar missile over Najran city on January 4. This confirms that unlike real ballistic missiles, these modified S-75 missiles are easy to be intercept with the Patriot air defense system.
