First, the Pentagon admits: another loss of an MQ-9 Reaper drone worth tens of millions of dollars!
Despite a month-long series of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, the U.S. and the West have found that the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen are "still" capable of launching a major attack. This week, the Houthis used shore-to-ship missiles in the Red Sea region to hit a U.S. and Western merchant ship and shot down a U.S. military attack drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The Pentagon admits that it has lost another drone worth tens of millions of dollarsMQ-9 Reaper drone
On Tuesday, the Houthis released a paragraph. **, the Houthis claim that they used a surface-to-air missile off the coast of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah to successfully shoot down a US military drone again: the MQ-9 Reaper Chada UAV! A man dragged pieces of a plane and what appeared to be electronic devices from the sea to the beach. There are English words on the fragments, which the Houthis say correspond to the parts of the US military's Reaper drone!
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told this reporter that the drone shot down by the Houthis is the US military's "tens of millions of dollars worth of Chada drones: MQ-9 Reaper drones!" It is understood that the "Reaper" UAV, with a total length of 11 meters and a wingspan of about 20 meters, flies at a height higher than that of civilian airliners. The aircraft is a medium and high altitude large unmanned combat aircraft developed by General Atomics of the United States, which is usually used for attack missions, intelligence collection and surveillance reconnaissance flights, and is a very advanced reconnaissance and combat integrated UAV, each with a manufacturing cost of up to 32 million US dollars! (Note: Relevant data **Report released by the U.S. military in 2020).
It is worth mentioning that in November 2023, the Pentagon admitted at that time that it had lost an MQ-9, also shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile over the waters of the Red Sea. Since the Houthis occupied northern Yemen and the capital, Sana'a, in 2014, the U.S. military has lost at least four MQ-9 drones in 2017, 2019, 2023 and this year.
Second, the Houthis are fighting more and more bravely, and the more their teams fight! The United States and the West hired "Chinese crews" through the Red Sea straits!
Against the backdrop of Israel's war of aggression against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis continue to choose to attack US and Western ships passing through the waters of the Red Sea. Despite the fact that this military act of the Houthis was met with "strong opposition" from the United States and the Western world! However, in the Palestinian-Israeli war, Israel's indiscriminate military attack in the Gaza Strip triggered the "public anger" in the Arab world, which instead enhanced the status of militias in the Middle East, including the Houthis--- which is also the fundamental reason why the Houthis are becoming more and more courageous and fighting more and more! Analysts warn that the longer Israel's fighting in the Gaza Strip drags on, the longer the Houthi attacks will last; This will lead to one of the many vicious outcomes: disruption of international shipping and a sluggish global economy!
According to the U.S. military ** command, the Houthis aimed two heavy anti-ship ballistic missiles at the Central American country: the Belize-flagged bulk carrier Rubimar, one of which hit the merchant ship. The Rubimar's propulsion system suffered a serious failure and it was no longer able to continue sailing. The crew of the "Rubimar" abandoned ship and escaped. Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sarri claimed on Monday night that the "Rubimar", which was hit north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, had sunk!
It is understood that since the New Year of 2024, the Houthis have attacked: 1. Oil tankers flying the flag of the Marshall Islands; 2. The American bulk carrier "Ocean Champion" flying the Greek flag; 3. The bulk carrier "Destiny" flying the flag of the Marshall Islands; According to the US ** Command,The U.S. military has shot down 10 Houthi attack drones with bombs in the past day, as well as a heavy cruise missile fired at an Arleigh Burke-class destroyerFrance also announced on Tuesday that it had shot down two Houthi drones in the Red Sea! The Houthis have acknowledged the drone strikes and have also claimed to have carried out other "significant, Israeli-linked attacks" that the West has so far refused.
Despite the armed attacks in the Red Sea that endanger shipping on important ** shipping routes between Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the Houthis declare that they are targeting ships with obvious ties to Israel! In addition to the United States, the European Union has also launched actions to protect shipping. In addition, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier "Destiny" with a destination in Italy publicly declared that the crew of the "Destiny" was "all Chinese" to avoid being targeted. The "Destiny" is actually proposing a worrying "solution" for US and Western cargo ships, and it is not surprising that the Houthis will continue to attack ships related to Israel and the US and the West, regardless of the nationality of the crew!
3. The U.S. military found that the cost of fighting the Houthis was too high and the effect was not obvious; and raised the profile of the Houthis
According to the statement of the US side, as of today, there have been no reports of US people being killed or injured by the Houthis. However, the US military has successively lost tens of millions of dollars worth of MQ-9 "Reaper" drones and used millions of dollars worth of cruise missiles to attack the "slipper army", the cost is too high and the effect is not obvious! And the Houthi ** is much cheaper, and the slipper army mainly fights "guerrilla warfare", the personnel are relatively scattered, and the "results" achieved by the cruise missiles of the US army are very limited! Despite the Houthi admitted, 22 fighters have been killed so far in the ongoing U.S. and Western airstrikes.
According to an international institute for strategic studies, militia groups that include Yemen's Houthis and their allies have about 20,000 fighters. They use "guerrilla warfare" and conduct military operations in small units, so it becomes very difficult for the US military to attack them. Scholars at the Institute of Middle East Studies in Washington said that the indiscriminate military attack by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip has made the whole world begin to sympathize with the "cause" of the Palestinians! This legitimizes the Houthis' military operations and expands their visibility and funding beyond Yemen!
The Houthis may also think that they have suddenly become famous in the Arab world because of Israel's brutality of ** women, children and sick people in Gaza, thus counteracting these original "unfavorable assessments". However, if the Houthis continue to attack, the expert said, "it could force the United States to step in and intensify and expand its military counterattack in the already volatile Middle East!"
According to Eleonora Aldermani, a researcher at the Italian Institute of International Politics, "If what is happening in Gaza does not stop, it is very likely that the Houthis will further escalate their attacks against the interests of Israel and the United States and the West in the Red Sea and the region!" Washington, she added, will realize that "carrot and stick tactics are increasingly not working!" February** Dynamic Incentive Plan