Houthi Rebels claim they have downed a Saudi Arabian F-15 jet, according ot al Jazeera. Press TV reported that the aircraft was intercepted and downed by Yemen's air defense forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees. The plane that was reportedly participating in the airstrikes on residential neighborhoods in the province was hit by a surface-to-air missile.

​Alleged images of the falling plane emerged on Twitter. </s> A Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft has been downed in the Sa'da Province in the northwest of war-torn Yemen, rebels said, cited by local news outlets.

Houthi Rebels claim they have downed a Saudi Arabian F-15 jet, according to al Jazeera. Press TV reported that the aircraft was intercepted and downed by Yemen's air defense forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees. The plane that was reportedly participating in the airstrikes on residential neighborhoods in the Sa'da province was hit by a surface-to-air missile.

Alleged images and a video of the falling plane emerged on Twitter.

— Ermes News (@ermes_news) 21 марта 2018 г.

The bloody conflict in Yemen between the Houthi movement and the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi began in 2015. The Saudi-led coalition has launched the air campaign in support of Hadi, carrying out airstrikes in the country. However, the military operation has been condemned by watchdogs over civilian population losses. </s> On March 21, the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, also known as the Houthi rebellion, reportedly shot down a Saudi Arabian McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, in the northwestern region of war-torn Yemen, cited Sputnik.

A source within the Yemeni air defenses told Saba News Agency that Houthi rebels launched a surface-to-air missile (SAM), and “managed to hit an F-15 aircraft belonging to the aggression [Saudi Arabia], carrying out criminal and hostile raids over the city of Saada.”

The source confirmed to Saba that Houthi rebels carried out “monitoring and targeting of the aircraft [F-15] with the latest defense technology developed locally successfully.”

This alleged footage had surfaced on social media of the moment when Houthi rebels launched a surface-to-air missile (SAM) — striking the F-15 fighter jet, which caused the warplane to erupt in flames at high altitudes.

Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Saudi Arabian-led coalition forces, Colonel Turki al-Maliki said the warplane was struck at 15:48 local time (1248 GMT) by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) launched from Saada airport camp in Yemen. Al-Maliki noted that the plane received minimal damage from the strike and managed to return to a Saudi Arabian airbase.

Al-Maliki stressed that the surface-to-air missile (SAM) was “not included in the Yemeni government arms arsenal…and that this is another proof of Iranian weapons smuggling to the Shiite rebels in Yemen.”

Three years into the 2015 Saudi-led invasion of Yemen, Iran has long denied smuggling weapons to the Yemeni rebels. According to SouthFront, their team of experts alleges the unidentified warplane was hit by “what appears to be a Soviet-made R-27T missile.”

A video released by the Houthis media wing clearly showed an unidentified warplane being hit by what appears to be a Soviet made R-27T missile. The Saudi-led collation revealed last November that the he Houthis had managed to turn Soviet-made R-27T air-to-air missiles into ground-to-air missiles. The R-27T is guided by infrared homing, and has the “fire and forget” feature, which makes it easy to convert it into a ground-to-air missile. The R-27T’s range is 70km when it’s launched from air. Nonetheless, the missile will have a shorter range when the missile it is launched from the ground. The Saudi-led coalition has not commented on the incident yet, likely because the warplane managed to return to its home airbase or crashed in an area under the coalition control.

So far in 2018, this is the second time the Houthi rebels have claimed they have struck an F-15 or Saudi Arabian-linked warplane over the skies of Yemen. On Janurary 08, Houthi rebels released dramatic footage of a surface-to-air missile (SAM) downing an F-15 fighter jet, though Saudi media denied the report and said it crashed due to technical problems…

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump commended Saudi Arabia’s defense acquisitions as he met with Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), at the White House — and pushed for even more.

It has been increasingly evident that U.S. defense sales to Saudi Arabia are a dominant force in allowing the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen to flourish.

As President Trump becomes the most excellent salesman the military-industrial complex has ever seen, perhaps the Saudis should reevaluate their F-15 purchases, as a rogue underfunded rebel group in Yemen has managed to damage two of their American made warplanes in less than three months.

Interesting enough, as we described above, it is possible that a Russian manufactured missile struck an American made fighter jet over the skies of Yemen. </s> JEDDAH: A coalition jet fighter on a mission in Yemen was ‘intercepted’ by hostile fire but managed to return safe to base, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting for the Legitimacy in Yemen said on Wednesday.

Col. Staff Turki Al-Turki said the incident, which happened at 3:48 p.m. on Wednesday, saw a coalition fighter jet targeted by a hostile missile launched from Yemen’s Saada airport. The jet managed to return fire as well as complete its mission, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

Al-Turki said the missile used was not part of the Yemeni air defense capabilities as they have been destroyed by the coalition, but evidence that the Iranian regime is continuing to smuggle "qualitative field capabilities" to the Houthis in a flagrant challenge to the world community resolutions, including UN Resolution No. 2216.

He said that the possession of new air defense missiles at the hands of the terror organizations is considered a serious development and a direct threat to air navigation and relief and humanitarian travel. </s> Alwaght- Yemeni air defense forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have intercepted and shot down an F-15 fighter jet belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Military sources confirmed to Yemeni news agency Saba, that the warplane was targeted with a surface-to-air missile while flying over the northwestern Yemeni province of Saada on Wednesday.

The US-made modern warplane had taken part in bombardments against residential neighborhoods in the province, sources said.

Earlier in the day, Saudi fighter jets targeted a vehicle as it was travelling along a road in the Nihm district of Yemen’s west-central province of Sana'a.

Meanwhile, Yemeni forces shot down a Saudi-led spy drone in flight over Midi district Hajjah Governorate, Yemen a military official told Saba on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday, the official said.

Yemeni forces regularly target Saudi-led warplanes, spy drone flying over the country and also launch attacks inside the Saudi kingdom in retaliation for the Riyadh-led war on Yemen, which has claimed around 14,000 lives.

The Saudi aggression was launched in March 2015 to reinstate a former Riyadh-friendly government and to eliminate the popular Ansarullah movement, that has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective administration.

The offensive has, however, achieved neither of its goals despite the spending of billions of petrodollars and the enlisting of the cooperation of Saudi Arabia’s regional and Western allies. </s> Alwaght- Yemeni air defense forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have intercepted and shot down an F-15 fighter jet belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Military sources confirmed to Yemeni news agency Saba, that the warplane was targeted with a surface-to-air missile while flying over the northwestern Yemeni province of Sa’ada on Wednesday.

The US-made ultra-modern warplane had taken part in bombardments against residential neighborhoods in the province, sources said.

Earlier in the day, Saudi fighter jets targeted a vehicle as it was travelling along a road in the Nihm district of Yemen’s west-central province of Sana'a.

Meanwhile, Yemeni forces shot down a Saudi-led spy drone in flight over Midi district Hajjah Governorate, Yemen a military official told Saba on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday, the official said.

Yemeni forces regularly target Saudi-led warplanes, spy drone flying over the country and also launch attacks inside the Saudi kingdom in retaliation for the Riyadh-led war on Yemen, which has claimed around 14,000 lives.

The Saudi aggression was launched in March 2015 to reinstate a former Riyadh-friendly government and to eliminate the popular Ansarullah movement, that has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective administration.

The offensive has, however, achieved neither of its goals despite the spending of billions of petrodollars and the enlisting of the cooperation of Saudi Arabia’s regional and Western allies. </s> Saudi air defense forces shot down a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi militia toward Khamees Mushait city in the kingdom's southwest on Tuesday night, a Saudi-led coalition said in a statement carried by the state news agency SPA.

The Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces destroyed the missile before it could cause any damage, according to the statement by the coalition, which since March 2015 has been fighting the Houthis to try to restore the Saudi-backed government of exiled president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Saudi forces responded to the missile attack by attacking the launch site, the statement added. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - A Saudi helicopter came down during military operations in Yemen on Tuesday, killing 12 officers aboard, Saudi media reported, and a Yemeni defense ministry news website said the cause was friendly fire.

The death toll was one of the largest in a single incident involving Saudi forces since a Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s war in 2015 to try to roll back the dominant Houthi group and restore President Abd-Rabu Mansour Hadi to power.

The official Saudi news agency SPA quoted a statement from the Saudi-led coalition as saying the Black Hawk came down in Marib province, east of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa.

“As a result, four officers and eight non-commissioned officers from the Saudi armed forces were martyred,” it said, adding the possible cause of the crash was under investigation.

But the Yemeni defense ministry’s 26 September news website quoted an officer in Yemen’s military high command as saying the helicopter was shot down 5 km (3 miles) from its landing spot because of “a technical fault that caused a misreading of the air defense system, which resulted in the destruction of the plane before it landed”.

It provided no details on who fired at the helicopter.

The Houthi-run Saba news agency said the helicopter crashed in an area known as al-Tadaween, northeast of the Marib provincial capital, and that 13 officers and soldiers had died.

In September 2015, a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis at a coalition military base in Marib killed more than 60 soldiers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The Saudi-led coalition has recently made gains against the Houthis in western Yemen but fighting on other fronts, including Marib, has been static, with little ground changing hands.

The Houthis seized much of northern Yemen including Sanaa in a series of lightning military operations that began in 2014, eventually forcing Hadi to flee.

The coalition accuses Iran of trying to use the Houthis to expand its influence in Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries. Iran denies this. The Houthis regard their move on Sanaa as a revolution against corruption. </s> • Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that one of its fighter aircraft was "intercepted" by a "hostile air defense missile."
• New video shows the true extent of the fighting.
• Saudi Arabia said the missile used was not originally of Yemeni origin, and proves that Iran has been arming the country, and that their jet survived.
• An expert told Business Insider that it's unlikely a fighter jet could survive such a massive fireball.

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that one of its fighter aircraft was "intercepted" by a "hostile air defense missile," and now video has emerged showing the true extent of the fighting.

Saudi Arabia said the missile used was not originally of Yemeni origin, and proves that Iran has been arming the country.

Experts who analyzed the film, released by Houthi rebels, said it showed a R-27T, or a Soviet-era missile usually found "hanging under the wing of a Russian-built aircraft," Justin Bronk, an air combat expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider.

The missile, with a heat-seeking sensor and a solid range of about 70 kilometers when fired from the air, is seen in the video bursting upwards and eventually erupting in a fireball.

The Saudis maintain the missile did not down the jet, which they claim returned back to base. The Houthis claim they downed the jet.

Saudi fighter jets likely have decoys and defensive measures on board, but according to Bronk, "I would be reasonably surprised if a fast jet could emit that amount of fire on impact and get home."

No matter the outcome, the fact that Houthi rebels in Yemen have demonstrated their ability to rig a Russian fighter jet missile to fire at Saudi jets from the ground shows they've advanced and increased their warfighting abilities.
Houthis claim to have shot down a Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 jet over Sa'da province, Yemen.