2014 Yemen Civil War

MQ-9 Reaper in the 2014 Yemen Civil War

U.S. MQ-9 Reapers were documented over Yemen during the 2014 Yemen Civil War, where public sources confirm observation or surveillance missions and Houthi-aligned forces shot down U.S. aircraft in 2019.

Weapon profileMQ-9 Reaper
SideUnited StatesRoleReconnaissance & Surveillance
MQ-9 Reaper, Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle, Aircraft & UAVs - 2014 Yemen Civil War
Image source: File: MQ-9 Reaper - 090609-F-0000M-777.JPG

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
A U.S. MQ-9 was operating over Yemen and was shot down on June 6, 2019.

Sources: CENTCOM Observation Aircraft Statement, Military Times June 2019 MQ-9 Report

CENTCOM assessed the June 2019 shootdown as a Houthi SA-6 surface-to-air missile engagement enabled by Iranian assistance.

Sources: CENTCOM Observation Aircraft Statement, CSIS Yemen Update June 2019

Two U.S. officials told Reuters that another U.S. military MQ-9 was shot down late on August 20, 2019 in Dhamar governorate.

Sources: Asharq Al-Awsat Reuters August 2019 Drone Report

The public conflict-use evidence supports surveillance and observation over Yemen, but does not confirm a Yemen civil-war MQ-9 strike mission.

Sources: CENTCOM Observation Aircraft Statement, Military Times June 2019 MQ-9 Report, Asharq Al-Awsat Reuters August 2019 Drone Report

Timeline

MQ-9 Reaper In 2014 Yemen Civil War

  1. Houthi forces shoot down a U.S. MQ-9 over Yemen

    CENTCOM said a U.S. MQ-9 was shot down over Yemen by what it assessed as a Houthi SA-6 surface-to-air missile enabled by Iranian assistance.

    Sources: CENTCOM Observation Aircraft Statement, Military Times June 2019 MQ-9 Report, CSIS Yemen Update June 2019

  2. U.S. officials report another MQ-9 loss in Dhamar

    Reuters, carried by Asharq Al-Awsat, reported that two U.S. officials said a U.S. military MQ-9 was shot down late on August 20 in Yemen's Dhamar governorate.

    Sources: Asharq Al-Awsat Reuters August 2019 Drone Report

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The MQ-9 Reaper is directly documented in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through U.S. and defense-reporting accounts of American aircraft operating over Yemen. U.S. Central Command said a U.S. MQ-9 was shot down over Yemen on June 6, 2019 by a Houthi SA-6 surface-to-air missile, and described the aircraft category in the statement title as U.S. observation aircraft.

Military Times summarized the same CENTCOM statement, reporting that an unmanned U.S. observation aircraft was shot down over Yemen on June 6 and identifying it as an MQ-9 Reaper. The supported public role for this conflict row is therefore surveillance and observation, not a documented MQ-9 strike mission in Yemen's civil-war battlespace.

Sources: CENTCOM Observation Aircraft Statement, Military Times June 2019 MQ-9 Report

Timeline

The clearest dated loss was June 6, 2019, when CENTCOM assessed that Houthi forces used an SA-6 surface-to-air missile to shoot down a U.S. MQ-9 over Yemen. CSIS Missile Threat placed the incident in a June 5-16 Yemen update alongside Houthi missile and drone attacks in the same period.

A second 2019 incident was reported on August 21, when Asharq Al-Awsat carried Reuters reporting that two U.S. officials said a U.S. military MQ-9 had been shot down late the previous day in Dhamar governorate, southeast of Houthi-controlled Sanaa. The same report said CENTCOM was investigating reports that a drone had been attacked in authorized airspace over Yemen.

Sources: CENTCOM Observation Aircraft Statement, CSIS Yemen Update June 2019, Asharq Al-Awsat Reuters August 2019 Drone Report

Operational role

The documented operator in the catalog record is the United States. Public sources for the Yemen civil-war row show U.S. MQ-9s present over Yemen and exposed to Houthi air-defense fire, but they do not establish a specific strike, target, or weapon release by an MQ-9 in this conflict.

The 2019 incidents also show the conflict's air-defense dimension. CENTCOM assessed the June shootdown as a Houthi SA-6 engagement enabled by Iranian assistance, while the August Reuters report attributed one official's preliminary assessment to a surface-to-air missile operated by Iran-aligned Houthi militias and noted another official's caution that responsibility was still being assessed.

Sources: CENTCOM Observation Aircraft Statement, Asharq Al-Awsat Reuters August 2019 Drone Report

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Sources