A senior U.S. protection official confirmed Wednesday that the Iranian-backed Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone close to the Yemeni Coast.
“We are able to affirm {that a} U.S. army MQ-9 remotely-piloted plane was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces,” the senior official instructed Fox Information.
The senior U.S. protection official added that the plane was shot down whereas in worldwide airspace over worldwide waters off the coast of Yemen, and that U.S. Central Command officers are at present assessing the incident.
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Iran-backed Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper Drone, Nov. 8, 2023. (Yemen Protection Ministry)
The MQ-9 was reportedly conducting surveillance over Yemen when a Houthi militia backed by Iran, fired at and shot down the $30 million drone Wednesday.
Video of the strike was launched by the Houthis, exhibiting U.S. protection officers say was seemingly taken down with a SA-6 surface-to-air missile.
The final time a drone of this sort was shot down by Houthi fighters was June 6, 2019. The Biden administration eliminated the Houthis from the U.S. checklist of terrorist teams in 2021.
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A MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drone with Customs and Border Safety (CBP) awaits a mission over the U.S.-Mexico border, Nov. 4, 2022, at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. (John Moore/Getty Photos/File)
MQ-9 Reapers drones are primarily used to gather intelligence, however have the flexibility to be armed with as much as eight laser-guided hellfire missiles, in accordance with the U.S. Air Pressure.
The drone is provided with subtle high-powered cameras, sensors and radars to gather intelligence. The cameras themselves have the flexibility to detect warmth and operated with little to no mild.
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An MQ-9 Reaper drone flies by on a coaching mission at Creech Air Pressure Base in Indian Springs, Nev. (Ethan Miller/Getty Photos/File)
The drones can run surveillance for a number of hours at over 25,000 ft; carry out strike, coordination and reconnaissance in opposition to high-value, fleeting and time-sensitive targets; and function remotely with two-crew members — one pilot to regulate the drone and a crew member to function sensors and information weapons.
Additionally they have the flexibility to stay within the air for greater than 27 hours.
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With a wingspan of 66 ft, size of 36 ft, peak of 12.5 ft, and weight of 4,900 kilos empty, the MQ-9 Reaper drone can attain a most pace of 276 miles per hour with a variety of 1,150 miles.
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