Yemeni Houthis Show Wreckage of Downed Saudi F-15

Yemeni Houthis shot down a Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter over Ma’rib Governorate.

The Yemeni Military Media published a video showing the wreckage and the aircraft’s tail section bearing the Saudi flag.

The footage also shows the use of an unidentified surface-to-air missile system, likely smuggled from Iran. The Houthis previously used a similar surface-to-air missile system to shoot down a Saudi Wing Loong II UAV.

The Royal Saudi Air Force began operating the F-15 in the late 1970s, when Saudi Arabia acquired its first F-15C/D Eagle fighter-interceptors.

The fleet was later expanded in the 1990s with F-15S strike fighters, while under a major 2010 contract, Riyadh acquired the latest F-15SA multirole fighters and upgraded its existing fleet.

The Royal Saudi Air Force currently operates more than 200 F-15 fighters of various variants. It is one of the largest fleets of these aircraft outside the United States.

Saudi F-15s form the backbone of the country’s fighter fleet and are actively involved in military operations against the Houthis in Yemen, conducting patrols and airstrikes.