According to Russian Pravda on the 13th, the Houthi armed forces said that they shot down an MQ-9 "Death" drone in northwestern Yemen, which was the fourth US drone it shot down within two weeks. Since October 2023, the armed forces have claimed that they have shot down 19 MQ-9s.

  According to Forbes magazine, the MQ-9 is the main combat equipment of the US drone force. It can carry precisely guided munitions to cruise for 24 hours continuously and launch raids from altitudes of 10,000 meters. It is often used to attack high-value targets, such as the assassination of senior Iranian general Soleimani in January 2020.

  MQ-9 drone. Photo/US Air Force Times

  But the drawbacks of this drone are also obvious.

  First of all, it is expensive. The latest model MQ-9 costs $32 million, surpassing the US AH-64E "Apache" armed helicopter, which is famous for its "burning money".

  The second is poor self-defense ability. MQ-9 is more suitable for low-intensity conflicts. Once it encounters an enemy with strong air defense firepower, it will inevitably fail.

  American media and think tanks have long noticed the above issues and reminded the US officials to pay attention.

  For example, in June 2020, Forbes magazine complained that the MQ-9 was "too expensive" and believed that drones should be cheap consumables to replace human aircraft to perform dangerous tasks, so that even if they are lost, they will not feel sorry.

  In February this year, the Atlantic Council, the U.S. think tank, also issued a report saying that the MQ-9 combat losses operating over Yemen have been rising steadily, losing almost one aircraft per month in 15 months, and "this situation is unsustainable."

  The report pointed out that in 2002, the United States began to use MQ-9 to monitor and crack down on targets in Yemen. For a long time, the losses of this type of drone were slight, and only three were shot down by Houthi forces from 2017 to 2019.

  However, as the Houthi armed air defense capabilities have increased, its interception frequency and success rate of US drones have continued to increase. A song called "Unuseless" has also been compiled to mock the MQ-9 for "bad combat power".

  Russian military media analyzed that since 2015, through external assistance, the Houthi armed forces have obtained advanced radars with detection ranges of 300 kilometers and covering medium and low and high altitude areas, and then combined with imitation, modification and introduction of multiple anti-aircraft artillery and air defense missiles to build a dense air defense network.

  Although this air defense system cannot stop the multi-dimensional three-dimensional strikes of military powers, it still poses a great threat to drones that lack cover and are slow.

  Houthi militants held up photos of the leader to participate in the event. Photo/US Newsweek

  For example, on February 19, the Houthi armed forces launched air defense missiles, attacking US F-16 fighter jets and MQ-9 drones flying in the airspace of the Gulf of Aden. As a result, the F-16 was unscathed, but the MQ-9 was shot down.

  According to rough statistics, in less than a year and a half, the US military has lost dozens of aircraft over Yemen, including F-18E/F carrier-based aircraft that were accidentally shot and fell into the sea by its own side, as well as drones such as MQ-9 "Death", which may be worth US$700 million.

  According to the Times of India on April 4, the Houthi armed forces released videos showing that they had seized an electric vertical take-off and landing reconnaissance drone (eVTOL) that was forced to land in the desert.

  Foreign media speculated that this move may indicate that the armed forces have mastered cyber electronic warfare methods to "hijack" enemy drones by interfering with navigation control signals.

  According to CNN, the combat costs (fuel and ammunition consumed + personnel and equipment mobilization and deployment) of the US military exceeded US$1 billion in the air strikes from March 15 to the present, and the Houthi armed forces "seemed to be happy" and did not show surrender.

  Foreign media therefore joked that the armed forces were "honey badgers", a fighting animal living in the desert. Even if it was bitten by a cobra, it would still fight back tenaciously and stop until death.

  US think tanks pointed out that more and more American drones were shot down, which not only greatly boosted the morale of the Houthi armed forces, but also helped them establish the image of "dare to fight against a powerful United States" throughout the Arab world, thus winning widespread support and sympathy.

  Experts analyzed that in the end, only ground attacks can completely eliminate the Houthi armed forces. But that may be what the armed forces think, because it "has always wanted to drag the United States into a larger regional conflict."

[Editor in charge: Wang Jinzhi]