Islam Times - Yemeni Forces to Unveil New Indigenous Air Defense Systems Soon

Islam Times - Yemeni armed forces will showcase new domestically-designed and -developed air defense systems in the near future, a high-ranking Yemeni military official said on Thursday.

The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a brief statement that the achievements will be showcased within the next few days.

Saree pointed out that the air defense systems enjoy advanced and state-of-the-art technology, and have successfully managed to show down several reconnaissance aircraft and fighter jets operated by the Saudi-led military coalition waging a war on Yemen.

On Tuesday, the spokesman for Yemen’s Air Force, Major General Abdullah al-Jafri, praised the recent interception and targeting of a Tornado multi-role combat aircraft of the Royal Saudi Air Force in the country’s northern al-Jawf province, stressing that 2020 will be the year of Yemeni air defense systems that will change the course of battles against the Saudi-led coalition.

He told Arabic-language Mirat al-Jazeera news website in an exclusive interview that the downing of the Tornado jet confirms beyond any doubt that 2020 will be the year of modern and advanced air defense systems that can track, damage or shoot down enemy aircraft.

Jafri also echoed earlier remarks by Saree that Yemen’s missile units have managed to reach high levels of advanced military capability to down hostile fighter jets.

“This is a qualitative and strategic development in the course of the battle, especially that Saree has underlined that 2020 will be the year of missile force and air defense systems under the motto 'Violating the Yemeni airspace will no more be a walk in the park”’ the high-ranking Yemeni military official added.

Saudi mercenaries attack Yemeni civilians in Hydaydah

Also on Thursday, Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Saudi mercenaries launched a barrage of mortar shells at residential neighborhoods in the July 7 area of Yemen’s western coastal province of Hudaydah. A woman lost her life as a result.

Saudi-led military aircraft also carried out ten airstrikes against various areas in the Nihm district of the capital Sana’a province. There were, however, no immediate reports about possible casualties or the extent of damage caused.

Elsewhere in the Sirwah district of the central Yemeni province of Ma’rib, Saudi-led warplanes mounted more than 10 air raids, though no reports about possible casualties or the extent of damage were quickly available.

Saudi-led fighter jets also pounded several neighborhoods in the Razih district of Yemen’s northwestern province of Sa’ada with a number of cluster bombs despite a global outcry against the use of such internationally-banned weapons by Saudi Arabia and its allies in the war on Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of Hadi back to power and crushing the Ansarullah movement.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past nearly five years.

The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.