“The Yemeni air defense forces shot down a US MQ-9 aircraft while it was conducting hostile operations in the airspace of Marib province. Mr. Yahya Saree – Houthi military spokesman made this statement on September 7.
According to Mr. Saree, this is the 8th US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper aircraft (aka “death god”) shot down by the Houthis in Yemen’s airspace since tensions in the Middle East escalated.
The MQ-9 has a factory price of about 30 million USD.
However, Mr. Saree did not provide specific information about how the Houthis shot down the plane. A US defense official told TASS news agency that they could not confirm the Houthi statement.
The MQ-9 Reaper is an armed UAV manufactured by the US General Atomics Corporation for the US Air Force, capable of flying at altitudes of over 15,000 m and operating continuously for 24 hours. The US Congressional Research Service said that each MQ-9 has a factory price of about 30 million USD.
According to the manufacturer, the MQ-9 is equipped with a self-defense system, capable of detecting threats and deploying countermeasures against enemy air defense weapons.
After the Hamas-Israel conflict in the Gaza Strip escalated in October 2023, the Houthi forces threatened to attack Israeli territory, and began attacking cargo ships passing through the Red Sea in November 2023, claiming this was an act of support for the people in the Gaza Strip.
In more than 70 attacks, the Houthis sank two ships, captured another and killed at least three sailors.
Recently, the US military said that Houthi forces attacked two crude oil tankers – the Saudi-flagged Amjad and the Panama-flagged Blue Lagoon I – in the Red Sea on September 2.
The US military and its allies in the Middle East have conducted numerous airstrikes on Houthi forces in Yemen to prevent and retaliate against attacks in the Red Sea.