The American-made Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle was destroyed by supporters of the Yemeni movement "Ansar Allah" (Houthis). The drone was used to perform reconnaissance missions over the province of Marib.
A number of sources suggested that the interception was carried out with the help of P-27 aircraft missiles adapted for launching from the ground, delivered to the MiG-29 fighters of the Yemeni air Force before the start of the civil war in that country.
However, military expert Yuri Lyamin believes that they used a means of destruction known as the anti-aircraft missile "358".
"The R-27s are highly mobile. The network had footage of them easily catching up with Saudi planes. In particular, the F-15 fighter. And here we again see a large X-shaped wing, a relatively low flight speed and a non-contact explosion carried out with the help of special sensors mounted in the front part," Lyamin explained after reviewing the video report published by the Houthis.
Previously, with the help of this air-to-air vehicle, the Wing Loong II and CH-4B attack and reconnaissance UAVs of Chinese production have already been shot down.
As for the Scan Eagle, this drone is a relatively small aircraft. It weighs only 18 kg and can carry 6 kg of payload. The wingspan is 3 meters. The range of application is 100 km. The maximum time spent in the air is 20 hours.
Alexey Moiseev
