Yemen’s Ansurullah Coalition Forces Claim Successful Interception of Saudi F-15 Fighter

Yemen’s Ansurullah coalition forces have reported they have intercepted an F-15 Eagle heavyweight fighter from the Royal Saudi Air Force over the country’s airspace, the latest of a number of claimed successful attacks on costly Western made fighters only some of which have been proven. It remains unconfirmed whether the interception resulted in a shooting down of the fighter, or whether the coalition’s air defences simply forced the aircraft to turn back to Saudi airspace. A number of media outlets have since interpreted the Yemeni claim as indicating a shootdown, although there is as of yet no evidence to support this. Saudi sources have denied the claim of a successful interception.

The Royal Saudi Air Force is the only operator of the F-15 among coalition partners in the Yemeni conflict, and fields the most advanced variant of the fighter currently deployed anywhere in the world - the F-15SA. With the Saudi military intervention in Yemen approaching its fifth year, and Ansuruallh coalition forces showing no sign of yielding despite the deployment of U.S. special forces to seek and destroy their assets, it has been widely anticipated that Riyadh will escalate its efforts to end the conflict. Ansurullah coalition forces carried out the most successful strike on Saudi territory yet in September 2019, costing the country several hundred million dollars daily in oil revenues since.