The Houthi forces in Yemen have announced the capture of an almost intact US MQ-9 Reaper drone and the subsequent attack on US destroyers in the Red Sea.
According to Arab media, the Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthi movement and aligned with Iran, shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance-attack drone from an air defense facility in the Marib province, central Yemen.
Military experts, after evaluating the released images and videos, concluded that the advanced US drone is in good condition. This implies that it could be sent to Tehran for Iranian military experts to dissect, study, and reverse engineer its technology.
Iranian military specialists are likely to utilize the acquired information to advance their high-altitude, long-range combat drone production program.
The experts will particularly focus on the electronic components of the MQ-9 Reaper, akin to their analysis of the RQ-170 Sentinel reconnaissance drone, manufactured by Lockheed Martin for the US Army, which Iran forced to land in late 2011.
Conversely, the US Department of Defense stated that the loss of this strategic UAV was due to a “technical error,” denying that it was shot down or forced to land by Houthi forces.
However, analysts highlight inconsistencies in the Pentagon’s statement, noting that since the start of the Western military campaign against the Houthi in Yemen, the US has lost six such drones, all of which were attributed to technical malfunctions.
Houthi Forces Attack US Naval Ships
Amidst this, Ansar Allah rebels claimed they successfully copied Iran’s Ghadr anti-ship ballistic missile to develop their Mohit ballistic missile, specifically designed to target US ships in the Red Sea.
The Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that the Mohit missile is equipped with an optical guidance system similar to Iran’s missiles. Experts warn that Houthi use of the Ghadr missile poses a significant threat to US and allied interests in the region, particularly in the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
Previously, this Yemeni rebel group attacked two US destroyers and three commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saria announced that “devastating attacks” on Western targets would continue.
