On December 1, the Houthis armed force announced that another Chinese-made Rainbow CH-4B of Saudi shot down with the help of air defence system over northern Yemen.
Yemeni group spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Sari, “said that the drone was conducting “hostile acts” over the area of Alamashya when it was shot down with a “ground-to-air” missile. Alamashya is located along the administrative border between the provinces of Saada and Amran”.
The Houthis shared footage showing the moment the drone was shot down and its wreckage. Within a few minutes, Saudi-led coalition warplanes carried out two airstrikes on the drone crash site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8aZ6UnfDaU
In the video, you can see the wreckage of the CH-4B armed drone, the missiles and the drone’s engine. The blue missile is an AR-1 semi-active laser-guided air-to-surface missile, but the seeker on the missile Gone, it seems to have been dismantled by Houthi-armed technicians, and on the ROTAX-914 engine made in Austria, the ROTAX logo is clearly visible.
This was the sixth CH-4 combat drone of the Saudi-led coalition to be shot down over Yemen by the Houthis’ air defenses this year.
- On February 12, a CH-4 drone was shot down over the district of Meghdal in the central province of Ma’rib;
- On March 23, a CH-4 drone was shot down over an unspecified part of Ma’rib;
- On May 23, a CH-4 drone was shot down over the district of al-Maraziq in the northern province of al-Jawf;
- On Sep 14 Wing Loong II drone shot down over Kitaf district in the northern Yemeni province of Saadah.
- On October 6, a CH-4 drone was shot down over the district of al-Jubah in Ma’rib.
The CH-4B was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation to carry out reconnaissance and combat missions. The Saudi military purchased an unknown number of drones a few years ago.
At present, it is not sure by which particular equipment was used by Houthis to shoot down Rainbow CH-4B UCAV, but judging from the video it clear, it was an air defence system. The Houthi armed forces have many anti-aircraft missiles originally belonging to the Yemeni government forces, including the old-fashioned Soviet made Sam-75 and Sam-6. Considering that the Houthi armed forces can even hide ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
Some photos and videos also revealed that the Houthi armed forces have strong modification capabilities. They used the photoelectric sensors on the crashed U.S.-made “Apache” helicopter gunships to search for targets and then used the MiG-29 fighter radar to search for targets. Russian-made R-73 infrared-guided air-to-air missiles, R-27 semi-active radar-guided air-to-air missiles, and R-77 active radar-guided air-to-air missiles launched from the ground provide target parameters and shoot down Saudi coalition aircraft flying at mid-to-low altitudes in a sneak attack.
In addition, the Iranian-made 358 air defense cruise missile has also appeared in the hands of Houthi armed forces. This missile is not fast, has low technical content, and is difficult to deal with modern fighters. However, it can wander in specific airspace within a certain period of time after launch. Compared with portable anti-aircraft missiles, it has a strong range and high firing advantages, and has a strong threat ability to targets that are not fast, such as unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters. The US military discovered 358 such missiles for the first time, so they called it “358”.
Many netizens who do not know about Houthis, let me tell you this rebel group like “Slipper Army” because they are like ordinary guerrillas, with simple equipment. Only relying on the human sea tactics and the guidance of Iranian military advisers can they repeatedly defeat the massive modernized equipment and Weapons of the Saudi coalition forces. But in fact, Houthis have the ability to destroy the main battle tanks, UCAV, and fighter aircraft equipped by the Saudi coalition forces, that’s why they constantly shoot down the Saudi coalition aircraft from time to time.