Yemen Army Downs US RQ20 Spy Drone over Jizan: Spokesman

“The air defenses managed to shoot down an US RQ20 drone in the airspace of Haradh district off Jizan by an appropriate weapon,” A spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Gen. Saree said in a statement, according to al-Masirah.

The AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma is a small, battery powered, American hand-launched unmanned aircraft system produced by AeroVironment based in California. Primary mission is surveillance and intelligence gathering using an electro-optical and infrared camera.

Yemeni forces have managed to down numerous US-made drones in recent years, notably destroying a US-operated advanced MQ-9 Reaper attack drone in August 2019.

The US has been a major backer of Saudi Arabia ever since it formed a military coalition campaign against Yemen in March 2015 in a bid to bring the government of former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) published says that 100,000 civilians have been killed since the onset of the conflict.