The US UAV was shot down while the vehicle was on duty in Al-Jawf province. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the move was in response to the large-scale airstrikes the US is conducting in Yemen.
Immediately after the incident, the Houthi group released a video recording the scene where the plane crashed after crashing into the ground. Many locals stood around the debris that was still smoking, believed to be from the MQ-9 that had just been shot down.
According to Mr. Saree, this is the third MQ-9 UAV shot down by the Houthis in just 10 days, bringing the total number of UAVs shot down by the armed group in Yemen since October 2023 to 18.
The Houthis said the interceptions of the MQ-9 aircraft were part of a Red Sea campaign, launched to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, US officials have not yet made an official comment on the latest incident. However, unnamed officials have told Fox News that the total number of MQ-9s lost since October 2023 could reach 17, close to the number released by the Houthis.
The MQ-9 Reaper is a drone produced by General Atomics Group, which can fly continuously for 24 hours and reach an altitude of more than 15,000m.
According to the announcement in 2023, the cost for each MQ-9 is around 30 to 33 million USD. This type of UAV has been widely deployed by the US military and the Central Intelligence Agency in Yemen and neighboring areas for many years.
According to the manufacturer, the MQ-9 Reaper is equipped with an advanced self-defense system, capable of detecting threats and reacting to attacks from enemy air defense systems. However, the Houthi group still continuously shot down many aircraft of this type.
The Houthis have not released specific weapons used in the interceptions, but some sources close to the group believe that the group used an Iranian-developed Saqr-358 inland missile.
This is a 3m long, 50 kg weighted missile equipped with optical detectors or thermal imaging, capable of destroying targets at a distance of 10km to 100km without the need for ground radar support. The missile uses a 10 kg shrapnel warhead, which can cause significant damage to many modern military aircraft.
