Yemeni army downs US-made ScanEagle spy drone in Ma’rib Province

The Yemeni army says it has shot down a ScanEagle spy drone belonging to the Saudi-led forces in Ma’rib Province, in yet another successful operation targeting such costly American-made aircraft.

According to Press TV, the Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a tweet on Sunday that the spy drone was downed using a “suitable weapon.”

“Our air defenses, thanks to God, were able to shoot down an American-made ScanEagle spy plane using a suitable weapon, while it was carrying out hostile actions yesterday evening, Saturday, in the airspace of the Juba district in Ma’rib Province,” Saree said.

ScanEagle is a small, long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for espionage activities. Each ScanEagle system reportedly costs US$3.2 million.

In recent months, Yemeni forces have shot down at least 13 ScanEagle spy drones, many of which over areas controlled by the army and allied popular committee forces in Ma’rib.

Since last summer, the Yemeni army and its allied fighters have been involved in an operation to liberate Ma’rib from militants allied to the former Riyadh-allied regime.

The militants, despite receiving heavy aerial support from the Saudi-led military coalition, have suffered huge losses on the battlefield, with the Army Forces expected to liberate the city in the near future.

Ma’rib, where many oil and gas resources of Yemen are located, has currently the largest concentration of Saudi-backed militants. The province’s recapture will thus mark a turning point in the defense campaign against the Riyadh-led war coalition.

ME