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2025-02-23 Arabia
Houthis target US fighter jet, drone with SAM missiles for first time
[FoxNews] Houthi rebels for the first time fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) at a U.S. F-16 fighter jet on Feb. 19, three senior U.S. defense officials tell Fox News.

The jet was flying off the coast of Yemen over the Red Sea when the SAM was fired. The missile did not strike the jet.

Houthis fired another SAM at an American MQ-9 Reaper drone that the U.S. was flying over Yemen outside Houthi-controlled areas on Feb. 19.

This is the first time the Houthis have fired a SAM missile at an American F16 fighter jet, a significant escalation in the ongoing military interactions between the Iranian-backed group and the U.S. Navy and Air Force, according to senior U.S. defense officials.

Under the Biden administration the U.S. military defended its warships patrolling the Red Sea and Bab al Mandab Strait, escorting and preventing attacks on commercial ships by the Houthis following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel by Hamas.

The Houthi attacks began shortly after the Israeli military responded to Oct. 7 in Gaza. U.S. Central Command then escalated its attacks on the Houthis to degrade infrastructure and weapons-storage facilities.

Now there is a policy debate at the highest levels of the U.S. military about what is the best way to counter the Houthis, which the Trump administration has put back on the State Department’s terror list.

The debate now is whether to carry out a more traditional counterterrorism approach to the Houthis, with persistent strikes targeting the individuals planning and carrying out the ongoing attacks, or whether to take a more defensive approach and keep going after Houthi infrastructure and weapons-storage facilities.
The third option being Shock and Awe. Can I vote for all three, as soon as possible?
Posted by Skidmark 2025-02-23 02:13|| || Front Page|| [11164 views ]  Top
 File under: Houthis 

#1 Early contender for dumbest move of 2025.
Posted by Glolutch Tingle1702 2025-02-23 05:42||   2025-02-23 05:42|| Front Page Top

#2 They must have watched The mouse That Roared.
Posted by Super Hose 2025-02-23 09:19||   2025-02-23 09:19|| Front Page Top

#3 I agree with Ripley...take off and nuke the site from orbit!!
Posted by Angimp Squank3949 2025-02-23 13:44||   2025-02-23 13:44|| Front Page Top

#4 The 'Ripley Sanction'
Posted by technochitlin 2025-02-23 16:52||   2025-02-23 16:52|| Front Page Top

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