How the Houthis’ Rickety Air Defenses Threaten Even the F-35
15th May 2025
Though details remain limited, the Houthis got worryingly close to downing a U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and reportedly several American F-16 Vipers, during a surge in airstrikes on targets in Yemen this spring. Houthi air defense capabilities are largely rudimentary, but this also makes them a unique and vexing challenge for American combat aircraft. Made up of mainly mobile systems, they can appear virtually anywhere, disrupting carefully laid mission plans. Many of them are also improvised, leveraging non-traditional passive infrared sensors and jury-rigged air-to-air missiles that provide little to no early warning of a threat, let alone an incoming attack.
Last month, TWZ published a deep dive feature on the Yemeni militants’ air defense arsenal that you can access here. You can also get up to speed about what is known about the Houthis’ attempted intercepts of U.S. crewed combat jets earlier this year in our initial reporting here.
Houthi air defenses appear to have prompted an increased use of stealthy aircraft like the F-35, especially for direct strikes on targets in Yemen, as well as costly standoff munitions, in recent months. The U.S. military launched its expanded campaign of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, dubbed Operation Rough Rider, in March. Last week, the U.S. government announced a ceasefire with the militant group, which authorities in Oman had helped broker.
Long-time readers will recall that I think that the F-35 is a flying piece of shit that costs too much and does too little, and that badly.