Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the drone was shot down by a locally made surface-to-air missile and marked the 14th aircraft downed by Houthi air defences since fighting with a US-led coalition and Israel had escalated since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
CENTCOM made no mention of losing a Reaper drone.
With each drone costing approximately $31m, that would mean that the total cost of the downed drones is more than $430m.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have launched nearly 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea, actions they say are in solidarity with Palestinians suffering under Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 45,400 people and wounded at least 107,900 Palestinians.
The Houthis have said they will stop their attacks if Israel’s war on Gaza stops.
