YemenEXtra
YemenExtra

U.S. Faces Mounting Setbacks as 12 Advanced MQ-9 Drones Downed in Yemen Over Past Year

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Yemen: The U.S. military is grappling with a significant and costly setback in Yemen, as a total of 12 MQ-9 drones have been downed in Yemeni airspace within the past year, creating pressure around transparency over these incidents.

On Friday, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced their twelfth successful downing of an MQ-9 drone, this time over Al-Jawf Governorate, releasing footage of the incident. American media outlets sought responses from the U.S. military, which has so far provided limited comments. The Associated Press reported that the U.S. military “acknowledged awareness” of the video, showing a drone in flames and debris scattered in Al-Jawf, and confirmed it is “investigating the incident” but refrained from offering further details.

In September, when Yemeni forces claimed to have downed three MQ-9 drones in a single week, the Pentagon responded with noticeable caution, only confirming the downing of one drone “in the Middle East” without specifying Yemen. Initial Pentagon statements focused on debris recovery efforts, though it later admitted to two drones being lost over Yemen in less than a week. At that time, a Pentagon spokesperson declined to disclose the overall number of drones lost in Yemen, citing “operational security reasons.”

The MQ-9 is a state-of-the-art U.S. attack and surveillance drone, valued at over $32 million per unit, not including armaments, equipment, or maintenance. This series of downings amounts to over $384 million in direct losses for the U.S. military, underscoring the significant operational and financial impacts facing the U.S. amid
ongoing challenges in Yemeni airspace.
source:- almasirah.net