Houthis release video claiming to show downed Saudi F-15 fighter as both sides continue to trade strikes

Houthis Claim Saudi F-15 Was Brought Down Over Marib

Sandego.net – Yemen’s Houthi movement has released footage it says shows the aftermath of a Saudi Arabian F-15 fighter jet being shot down over Marib Governorate, a development that could deepen concerns about the expanding conflict around Yemen and its consequences for regional energy security.

The group said the American-made aircraft was hit while carrying out what it described as hostile missions over west-central Yemen. In its statement, the Houthis said a surface-to-air missile produced locally had downed the jet.

The video includes what appears to be a missile striking an aircraft on an electronic display, followed by scenes of fighters examining debris scattered across a desert area. In one sequence, men hold up an apparent aircraft tailfin carrying a Saudi flag marking and the number 5539.

The crash location has been identified as being in Marib, a strategically important governorate that has seen repeated fighting during Yemen’s long civil war. The fate of the two people normally aboard the aircraft remains unknown, as the Houthi announcement did not address the crew.

No Saudi Confirmation Yet

Saudi officials and the leadership of the Arab Coalition had not issued public statements confirming or disputing the claimed loss of the aircraft. The markings visible on the wreckage appear consistent with a Saudi F-15SA, one of the newer versions of the F-15 operated by the kingdom.

If the claim is verified, it would represent only the second known occasion during the current conflict in which a US-built F-15 has been lost to hostile fire. The incident would also underline the growing threat posed by air-defense systems in a war where drones, missiles and airstrikes have become central tools of escalation.

The reported shootdown comes as the conflict involving Iran and the United States continues to affect Yemen, where the Houthis have intensified operations against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. Their recent territorial gains have increased pressure on key shipping and export routes tied to Saudi energy supplies.

Fighting Near Vital Maritime Routes

In recent days, the Houthis have taken a Red Sea port city and an island near an important waterway. That maritime passage has served as an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz for Saudi oil and refined-product exports, making control and security in the area important well beyond Yemen’s borders.

Yemen sits beside the Bab el-Mandeb, often called the Gate of Tears, a narrow channel connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Disruption around this corridor can affect commercial shipping, energy flows and maritime security across a much wider region. The latest military exchanges therefore carry implications not only for the combatants, but also for countries dependent on reliable passage through nearby waters.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have also traded increasingly deadly attacks in recent weeks. Riyadh has linked recent military action to what it said was a Houthi drone operation directed at Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.

The kingdom reiterates its legitimate right to take all necessary measures to defend the security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims and visitors they receive, as well as the kingdom’s entire territory, citizens, and residents.

Saudi air defenses said the drone was intercepted and destroyed before entering restricted airspace. Separately, Saudi Civil Defense said debris from an intercepted drone fell in Taif governorate on Thursday, killing a Yemeni resident in the kingdom and injuring a Saudi woman and a Pakistani national. Buildings and vehicles were also damaged.

Saudi Civil Defense described the aircraft as having been launched by the “Houthi terrorist militia,” and said it was destroyed before its wreckage reached the area.

Competing Accounts of Civilian Harm

The Houthi-controlled armed forces later said Saudi warplanes conducted 37 strikes across the Taiz and Hajjah provinces during the preceding 24 hours. The group said civilians were killed and injured in those attacks, though the claimed number of strikes, the locations involved and the reported casualties could not be independently confirmed.

Such competing accounts are a persistent feature of Yemen’s conflict, where access to front-line areas is limited and each side often presents events through its own military and political narrative. The claimed F-15 loss, however, is significant because it involves a high-value combat aircraft and may point to a more capable threat to Saudi air operations.

An F-15 Strike Eagle operated by the US Air Force was previously brought down by Iranian forces earlier in the war. A subsequent rescue mission recovered its crew, though several US aircraft had to be destroyed after becoming stranded at a desert landing site. Three US F-15s were also lost to Kuwaiti friendly fire during the early phase of the Iran war.

For Saudi Arabia, confirmation of another F-15 loss would add to the military and political strain created by the conflict’s wider regional reach. For Yemen, it would be another indication that a civil war that has endured for years is increasingly intertwined with confrontation among larger powers and the struggle for security along one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors.