US confirms drone downed over Red Sea as Houthis release footage of strike

A US MQ-9 Reaper drone disappeared over the Red Sea on Monday, the same day Yemen’s Ansarallah (Houthi)-aligned armed forces claimed responsibility for shooting it down. A US defence official confirmed that Central Command lost contact with the drone but did not confirm whether it was downed by the Houthis.

On Tuesday, the military media of the Yemeni armed forces released footage showing the destruction of the drone. The video documented the tracking process and the moment it was hit by a locally made surface-to-air missile in the skies over Hudaydah. Earlier that day, the Yemeni armed forces announced that air defences had successfully shot down a “hostile” US drone, accusing it of violating Yemeni airspace and conducting “hostile missions”.

⚡️MUST WATCH: The Yemeni Armed Forces published a video showing its air defenses shoot down the American plane MQ-9 drone above Saada Governorate.

I’m assuming they used Fater-1 SAMs pic.twitter.com/GXoPT9IcJR

— Arya – آریا (@AryJeay) April 27, 2024

The spokesperson for the Yemeni military, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, claimed: “This aircraft is the fifteenth that the Yemeni air defences succeeded in shooting down in support of the resistance in Gaza and Lebanon.” He warned that the armed forces “are fully getting prepared to deal with any developments during the next stage.”

READ: US designates Yemen’s Houthis as Foreign Terrorist Organisation

“If true, this is yet another example of reckless actions by the Iranian-backed Houthis that threaten regional stability,” a US defence official told Stars and Stripes.

The drone’s loss coincides with Washington’s decision to re-designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation under the Trump administration. Since the launch of Al-Aqsa Flood in October 2023 and the ensuing war on Gaza, the Houthis have launched numerous attacks on commercial and military vessels linked to the occupation state in the Red Sea, prompting US-led retaliatory strikes.

The US has lost at least 12 MQ-9 Reapers to the Houthis during the conflict. The drones, which cost around $30 million each, are primarily used for intelligence gathering but can also carry out precision strikes.

READ: Yemen Houthis say ready to resume operations to confront Israeli violations in Gaza