【Since the Yemeni civil war resumed, this marks the first manned aircraft loss for the Saudi Air Force】 The fighter jet shot down by the Houthi forces was an F-15SA Eagle II belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force, and also the most advanced fighter in the Saudi Air Force's inventory.
The F-15SA is a two-seater, meaning both crew members are either dead or captured, or perhaps another dramatic rescue operation akin to the American mission to save soldiers in Iran.
Photos of the F-15SA wreckage show it bore the tail number 5529, indicating it belonged to Squadron 55 and took off from King Khalid Air Base on a mission.
The F-15SA is the prototype for the U.S. Air Force’s F-15EX Eagle II, a derivative variant of the F-15E “Strike Eagle,” equipped with Raytheon’s advanced active electronically scanned array radar APG-63(V)3—but was ultimately brought down by a ground-to-air “homemade” missile.
Three hundred million dollars—just a sound.
Houthi fighters shouted beside the wreckage: “This is the fate of the Saudi royal family: humiliated and defeated in Yemen.”
Thermal imaging and anti-aircraft targeting scopes can counter those flashy “stealth” and defensive measures—no jet aircraft fails to emit heat and light.
This is the first loss of a manned aircraft for the Royal Saudi Air Force since the resumption of the Yemeni civil war.
U.S. media commentary on the aircraft loss reflects Riyadh’s underlying concerns about its “purchased troops” not being fully prepared for combat.
Money isn’t always everything.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1876531226956800/
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