The United States Air Force has long used the MQ-9 Reaper drone to carry out ISR and surgical strike missions in many low-intensity conflict zones around the world. While the fact that low-tech Yemen Houthi rebels are constantly shooting the Reapers down proves they are vulnerable, that doesn’t mean they are obsolete – as is shown in India moving to purchase 31 MQ-9B drones for patrol missions.
Over a dozen (or more) MQ-9 Reaper drones lost over Yemen
Writing on 10 November 2024, as recently as 8 November 2024, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed to have shot down another MQ-9 Reaper drone. The US military has acknowledged videos circulating online that appear to show an aircraft falling from the sky in a ball of fire and said it was investigating the incident without elaborating further.
Photo: USAF
Whether this incident turns out to be an American MQ-9 Reaper drone or not doesn’t take away from just how vulnerable they have become (or perhaps always were). In September 2024, the Associated Press reported the Houthis shot down two American MQ-9 Reapers in under a week. The publication stated that the US military acknowledged the shootdowns, with the first being shot down on September 10th and the second on the 16th.
Example known causes of MQ-9 Reaper shoot downs:
2K12 Kub (NATO SA-6) surface-to-air missile over Yemen (6 June 2019)
Fater-1 missile – an improved SA-6 – over Yemen (21 August 2019)
Pantsir air defense system over Libya (23 November 2019) – also possibly lost due to jamming
Russian Su-27 collided with MQ-9 Reaper (14 March 2023)
Why Are So Many US MQ-9 Reaper Drones Being Shot Down Over Yemen?
