Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Friday they shot down an American drone, potentially adding another U.S. aircraft to the growing list of unmanned vehicles lost over the war-torn country as tensions escalate in the Red Sea region.
The U.S. military acknowledged it was investigating videos circulating online showing what appears to be a flaming aircraft plummeting from the sky and burning debris scattered across what observers described as Yemen’s al-Jawf province. Military officials declined to provide further details about the incident.
While the quality of the nighttime footage makes aircraft identification difficult, the Houthis later specified they had downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, a $30 million aircraft capable of flying at altitudes up to 50,000 feet for 24 hours. The rebels have previously shot down similar U.S. drones in 2017, 2019, 2023, and 2024, though the U.S. military has not disclosed the total number lost.
The incident occurs amid an intensifying campaign of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping. The Iran-aligned rebels have targeted more than 90 vessels with missiles and drones since October 2023, when the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza. Their campaign has resulted in four sailor deaths, one vessel seizure, and two ships sunk, despite many attacks being thwarted by a U.S.-led coalition.
The Houthis possess surface-to-air missiles, including the Iranian-made “358,” capable of downing aircraft. While Iran denies arming the rebels, Tehran-manufactured weapons have been discovered both on Yemen’s battlefields and in intercepted sea shipments, despite a United Nations arms embargo.
The rebels, who seized northern Yemen and its capital Sanaa in 2014, form part of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” alongside Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas, and other militant groups. They claim to target vessels linked to Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom to pressure an end to Israel’s Gaza campaign, though many attacked ships have had little or no connection to the conflict.
In response to the maritime threats, the U.S. military deployed B-2 stealth bombers against Houthi underground bunkers in October, marking a significant escalation in the confrontation.
