Screen grab from the footage released by the Houthis.
On December 10, the military media of the Houthis (Ansar Allah) shared footage showing the group’s air defenses engaging a F-15 fighter jet of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) over the central Yemeni province of Ma’rib a day earlier.
The Houthis air defenses opened fire at the fighter jet while it was conducting “hostile acts” over the district of al-Jubah.
The fighter jet was targeted with a “Fatir-1” air-defense system, a locally-upgraded variant of the Soviet-made SA-6 “Gainful” system which was first unveiled by the Houthis in August of 2019.
The footage released by the Houthis shows the Fatir-1 missile exploding right beneath the F-15, which was releasing flares and chaffs. The fighter jet was likely damaged as a result of the missile’s explosion.
The remains of the Houthi Fatir-1 missile were later found by Saudi-backed forces, who claimed that it was a “ballistic missile”.
The SA-6 system has a range of 25 kilometers and engagement altitude of up to 8 km with its standard armament, the 9M336 missile, guided by semi-active radar homing. However, the Houthis’ Fatir-1 is supposedly “heat-guided” with a range of 22 km only.
The Houthis attempt to shot down the RSAF F-15 fighter jet will likely force the Saudi-led coalition to slow down its aerial operations in Yemen, especially over Ma’rib. This will help the group’s ongoing attack on Ma’rib city.
Impressive. The plane would certainly have been damaged by that warhead explosion – but was it just a few scorches or were there a few holes made?
Unlikely we will ever know as that would give intel to the Houthis.
The blast alone would do significant damage from concussive effect, even in the extremely unlikely event that none of the shrapnel struck the F 15. The Barbarian plane will at the least require extensive testing before it flies again, if it ever does.