Houthis Claim Downing Saudi F-15 Jet Over Yemen

The Houthi movement in Yemen claims to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet early Tuesday morning over the Marib province. The Saudi military has not confirmed or denied the claim. According to a Houthi spokesperson, the downed jet was engaged in hostile actions in the airspace northeast of Sanaa.

The Houthis are boasting that the American-made F-15 has lost its status in the Middle East within six months. Since the start of Operation "Lion of the Desert" in March, Iranian air defense systems have reportedly downed one such jet, and three more were downed in Kuwait, with the U.S. military attributing those incidents to errors. The Houthis also claim to have downed a Saudi F-15 on Tuesday. This brings the total to four U.S. military aircraft and one Saudi aircraft claimed to have been downed in recent months.

In contrast, the article notes that during three years of war, no Israeli Air Force fighter jets were shot down, despite thousands of sorties over Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran. A single rescue helicopter crashed during a combatant evacuation, reportedly due to human error.