[Janes] Key Points- The Arab coalition has deployed two Patriot fire units to defend its base in Yemen's Marib province
- The deployment corroborates claims that the base was hit by a ballistic missile on 4 September
The Arab coalition fighting to reinstall Yemen's ousted president has deployed Patriot air-defence systems to defend its forward operating base in Marib province, satellite imagery from Airbus Defence and Space has confirmed.
The imagery from 1 October shows two Patriot fire units, each with an AN/MPQ-53/65 radar and just two launchers, at either end of the airstrip at the Safir refinery in Marib. Six AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, two UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters, and one CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopter can be seen on the airstrip.
The deployment of the Patriot systems effectively confirms there is an ongoing ballistic missile threat to the base as Yemen's air force has not resisted the coalition since it launched its intervention in March and most (if not all) of its aircraft have now been destroyed on the ground.