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A United States F-35 stealth fighter jet had to take evasive maneuvers over Yemen to avoid being hit by anti-aircraft missiles launched by the Houthis (Ansar Allah), The War Zone reported on March 14, citing a U.S. official.
“They got close enough that the [F-35] had to maneuver,” the official said.
The exact date or location of the incident was not revealed by the unnamed official, who also didn’t clarify if the F-35 in question was an Air Force variant or one flown by the Navy or Marines.
The report is inline with an earlier on by The New York Times which provided some details on the U.S. recent operation against the Houthis.
“In those first 30 days, the Houthis shot down seven American MQ-9 drones (around $30 million each), hampering Central Command’s ability to track and strike the militant group,” the publication reported on May 12. “Several American F-16s and an F-35 fighter jet were nearly struck by Houthi air defenses, making real the possibility of American casualties, multiple U.S. officials said.”
The Houthis may have used one of their medium-range anti-aircraft missiles to engage the fighter jets. These missiles are the Fater-1, a copy of the Soviet-made 3M9 used in the Kub system with a range a little bit over 22 kilometers, the Barq-1 and 2, both are thought to be derivative of the Iranian-made Taer-2 with a range of 50 and 70 kilometers respectively.
It is also possible that the group used an Iranian-made missile-drone hybrid identified by the U.S. military and intelligence as type 358. The weapon, which was spotted in Yemen before, is said to have a range of 150 kilometers.
It is unclear however how the Houthis were able to detect and lock on the F-35, which the U.S. military claim to have a high degree of stealth.
The U.S military resumed strikes against the Houthis on March 15 on orders from Trump who said at the time that large-scale operation, codenamed “Rough Rider,” was a response to the group’s repeated attacks on Israel-affiliated shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis renewed attacks on Israel three days later.
During the operation, over 1,000 targets were struck in Yemen. Houthi-run media reported the death of more than 250 people, including women and children.
In addition to the seven MQ-9s lost to Houthi air defenses, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman lost two F/A-18 Super Hornets, close to $70 million each, to incidents.
On May 6, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a deal had been reached with the Houthis, with the group agreeing to halt attacks on U.S. vessels in exchange for ending an operation the U.S. military launched in mid-March. By then, the cost of the operation had exceeded $1 billion.
After the announcement, senior Houthi officials were quick to declare that the attacks on Israel will go on until the war on the Gaza Strip is over. The group went on to launch three drones at targets in Israel the very next day.
All in all, the latest operation against the Houthis highlighted serious flows in the planning of the U.S. military. It also raised questions about the effectiveness of some systems, like the MQ-9 and the F-35.
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a high degree of stealth… well obviously it doesn’t if the houthis were able to detect and lock on to it, nevertheless bravo on the houthis getting real close to destroying a high value military asset.
it’s the us fleet that has now acquired a high degree of stealth in the red sea. /s
the houthi spirt is not stoppable
americans scramble out of yemen twice now, optics don’t look good with tails between their legs. bahahaha bahahaha bahahaha, can’t make this stuff up.
but us military complex will claim as a threat to milk us citizens dry as always . no matter how obvious . two oceans are never enough defence .
blow the satanic nazis from the sky. they are non-humans, have ordered mass murder in the hospitals around the world. not a single trial yet.
and how many suckers rushed to buy the alleged stealth fighters. buhahahahahaaaaa. nothing is undetectable
another us wonder weapon thats not so wonderful.😬
hollywood jets from a hollywood government…