What to Know:
The Houthis have claimed to have downed another American MQ-9 Reaper drone near the port city of al-Hudaydah, western Yemen. If confirmed, this will be the second Reaper lost to Houthi air defenses since November.
The Claim:
In a statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed that “Yemeni air defenses were able to shoot down an American plane (MQ9) with a suitable missile while it was carrying out hostile missions against our country on behalf of the Zionist entity.”
“The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to take more military measures and carry out more qualitative operations against all hostile targets in defense of beloved Yemen and in confirmation of the position,” he added.
????? ???? ?????? ???? MQ-9 REAPER ?? ???? ????????.
??? ?????? ??? ????? ? ??? ??????? ???? Reaper pic.twitter.com/Qs6FO2WGoe— Arab-Military (@ashrafnsier) February 19, 2024
The claim coincided with footage from the area showing what appears to be a mid-air interception over al-Hudaydah. So far, there has not been any videos or images of wreckage to confirm the claim.
The United State military has not commented on the matter.
Previous MQ-9 Downing:
Back in November, the Houthis released a statement saying that their “air defenses were able to shoot down an American MQ9 aircraft while it was carrying out hostile, monitoring and spying activities in the airspace of Yemeni territorial waters and within the framework of American military support for the Israeli entity.”
Likewise, footage was released showing the shoot down.
Parts of an MQ-9A Extended Range Reaper washed ashore on the coast of Somaliland, likely the result of the recent shoot-down by Houthis in Yemen. These parts can be matched to stabilizers, external fuel tank, and a mystery pod that has appeared in Syria, Romania, Japan, & Kuwait. https://t.co/rGUNxgGY5m pic.twitter.com/8QyiWrKk9w
— Amelia Smith (@ameliairheart) November 18, 2023
While the United States military never officially acknowledged the incident, unnamed defense officials told Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin that the MQ-9 was intercepted using a Houthi SA-6 SAM system “while in international airspace over international waters off the coast of Yemen. It is important to note that the Houthis were previously able to down a Reaper using a SA-6 over Yemen in 2019.
Over a week later, debris washed ashore in Somaliland, which was identified as belonging to a MQ-9A extended range Reaper drone.