Screengrab. (The Houthis’ Military Media)
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 Saada on April 25.
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 footage released by the Houthis suggest that the drone was armed with AGM-179 JAGM missiles, which are guided by semi-active laser and millimeter-wave radar and have a range of up to eight kilometers, when it was shot down.
The Houthis apparently 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.
The Pentagon confirmed on April 26 that an MQ-9 combat drone was lost over Yemen, without admitting that it was shot down by the Houthis.
The drone was the third 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 Gaza Strip last November.
In addition to shooting down these drones, the Houthis targeted dozens of Israel-affiliated ships and others owned by the U.S. and the UK in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The group also launched several drone and missile attacks at the southernmost Israeli city of Eilat.
Since January, the U.S. and the UK have carried out hundreds of strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in an attempt to deter the Houthis and degrade their capabilities. However, the group’s recent operations suggest that none of these objectives have been achieved so far.
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