chapotraphouse

US officials have confirmed 19 of the 22 claimed MQ-9 Reaper losses.

A U.S. defense official told TWZ yesterday that Yemeni militants have or are suspected to have brought down six MQ-9s since March 15. Fox News reported today that U.S. officials have acknowledged the loss of another Reaper, the seventh one since the beginning of last month. Back in March, an unnamed U.S. defense official told Stars and Stripes that the Houthis had downed 12 Reapers since October 2023

12+7=19

Ansarallah/the Houthis in Yemen have a rudimentary but solid air defence system, with a mix of radar and ground based infrared search and track systems for detection and guidance, mostly locally manufactured versions of Iranian air defence systems, but some old Soviet era gear as well. They also have an anti air loitering munition called Missile-358. They haven't been able to shoot down any US fighter aircraft directly, but this system has taken out many MQ-9 Reaper drones, and forced non stealth fighter aircraft to carry out lots of stand-off strikes to minimise risk to the pilots.

This article is a good overview of Yemeni air defence systems and capabilities

I did a comment on the latest attempts by the US Navy to suppress this air defence system here

Here's a comment on how stealth is becoming increasingly important in the modern battlefield

A comment on ground based infrared search and track systems likely in Yemen

They take pictures of the wreckage

Photos and also I'd probably pump the number up a bit higher if I was making shit up

And then the US forces retreated victorious