News - Yemen: Yemeni Armed Forces air defenses downed an American "MQ-9" drone in the skies of Al-Jawf with a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile.

The Armed Forces confirmed that this drone marks the 18th to be shot down during the "Promised Conquest and Holy Jihad" operation, and the third within ten days. They reiterated their continued support for the Palestinian people until the aggression on Gaza ceases and the blockade is lifted.

The Armed Forces emphasized their commitment to carrying out defensive operations and confronting any attempts to undermine Yemen's sovereignty, security, and stability.

On April 1, the air defenses of the Yemeni Armed Forces shot down an American MQ-9 drone in the skies of Marib Governorate, using a domestic-made missile. The second such aircraft was shot down within 72 hours in Hodeidah.

Notably, the Yemeni Armed Forces' air defenses had previously downed an American MQ-9 drone on January 1st while it was conducting hostile operations in Marib's airspace.  

After one month from the start of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" battle, and in an operation that was the first of its kind outside Yemeni territory, the Yemeni Air Force downed the American espionage drone "MQ9" on November 8, 2023, while it was carrying out hostile acts and surveillance and espionage in the "Yemeni territorial waters" as part of Washington's protection of the Zionist entity and within the military support provided to the entity.

The series of downing of the "MQ9" fighter spy drones dates back to 7 years ago, specifically on October 1, 2017, when the Yemeni air defenses shot down the first drone of this type while it was carrying out hostile acts in the airspace of the capital Sana'a, and the scenes of this drone's downing were broadcast, which at the time formed a shock to the US-Saudi aggression alliance, after which the operations of this type of drone were limited in the face of the escalation of the downing operations in the Yemeni airspace.

During the years of the US-Saudi aggression against Yemen as well, in June 2019, a second drone of this type was shot down in the airspace of the coastal governorate of Hodeidah, and in August of that year, a third drone was shot down in the central governorate of Dhamar, and in March 2021, the fourth American drone of the same model was shot down in the governorate of Marib.

This successful interception challenges Washington's assumption that Yemen's Air Defenses are concentrated only in specific areas, reinforcing Yemen's ability to defend its airspace comprehensively and deal significant blows to hostile threats.