AIR WAR IN YEMEN

[Fatman17]

AIR WAR IN YEMEN​

1. Aviation Features
2. Air war in Yemen

By Arnaud Delalande 17th August 2017
FEATURE

Saudi Arabia’s controversial operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen have involved a coalition of Gulf and Arab air arms. Arnaud Delalande provides an air power assessment.
Arnaud Delalande
The Ansar Allah rebel group – also known as the Houthis – took control of the Yemeni capital Sana’a in September 2014. Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa resigned and the Houthis signed a deal with an alliance of other political parties to establish a new, unity government. On March 26, 2015, in response to an appeal from President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, whose government the rebels had deposed, Saudi Arabia launched a military intervention in Yemen. This was undertaken by a coalition of nine Gulf and Arab states and involved air strikes and an aerial and naval blockade of Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition for Operation Decisive Storm included around 100 Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) aircraft including F-15S, Tornado IDS and Typhoon jets supported by A330 tankers and Cougar combat search and rescue helicopters. The Typhoon and F-15S were equipped with Damocles and DB-110 targeting and reconnaissance pods respectively, and carried various Paveway and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs. RSAF support platforms included E-3As and Saab 2000 Erieye airborne early warning and control aircraft.
As the second-largest contributor the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided 30 aircraft, including F-16E/Fs, Mirage 2000s, and at least one A330 tanker. The other aircraft comprised 15 F/A-18Cs from Kuwait, ten Mirage 2000s from Qatar, F-16s operated by Bahrain (15), Egypt, Jordan (six) and Morocco (six), and three Sudanese Su-24Ms.

One of at least five Saudi Apaches lost in the Yemen campaign, this AH-64D crashed in Jizan province in September 2015.
Saudi Arabia’s main objective was to restore the Hadi government-in-exile to power in Sana’a; this demand was reinforced under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 adopted three weeks after the beginning of Decisive Storm.
Saudi Arabia had two other motivations for its intervention. First was the destruction of the threat posed to the Kingdom by Yemen’s ballistic missiles, which had fallen into the hands of the Houthi alliance. The second aim was to prevent the Houthis’ suspected state-sponsor, Iran, from gaining a strategic foothold on the Arabian Peninsula.
Decisive Storm
The first weeks of the campaign neutralised the Yemeni Air Force, notably the shelters believed to house its MiG-29s. Before Decisive Storm, Yemen had fewer than 20 MiG-29s; most were stored at al-Dailami air base (alongside Sana’a International Airport), with a detachment at al-Anad. The Fulcrums’ current fate is uncertain. Air defence systems were also destroyed, including surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries and associated radars around Sana’a and al-Dailami, and, most importantly, tactical and ballistic missile forces.
The first coalition loss was an RSAF F-15S that suffered technical problems over the Gulf of Aden on the second day of the campaign, March 27. The crew ejected safely and was rescued by a US Air Force HH-60G operating from Djibouti.
On April 21, four weeks and more than 2,300 strike sorties after the beginning of the aerial campaign, Decisive Storm ended, and Operation Restore Hope began. The bombing appears to have reduced Houthi movement and resupply by attacking highways and bridges, driving rebel forces from the roads and inhibiting the redeployment of combat elements between urban centres.
The air campaign continued during Restore Hope with strikes against military bases. Al-Dailami was targeted again in early May. Six fighters (one MiG-29, two F-5s, three Su-22s, all probably non-airworthy), one Mi-8 and two Il-76TDs were destroyed. Between May and July, the Saudi led-coalition lost three more aircraft: two AH-64Ds were shot down or crashed in Jizan province close to the Saudi-Yemen border during Houthi attacks on Saudi territory and a Moroccan F-16C was also lost – probably shot down – in Sa’ada province.

A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15S lands at King Khaled AB, Khamis Mushayt during Operation Decisive Storm. The aircraft carries a DB-110 pod on the centreline. The base is home to the RSAF’s 5 Wing, responsible for 6 and 55 Squadrons flying the F-15S.
All photos via author

A rare photograph of UAE AH-64Ds in Aden.

Wreckage of Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16C 08-8008 that crashed in Sa’ada province on May 10, 2015, killing the pilot.
During this second phase of the war, the Saudi-led coalition reportedly also targeted civilian infrastructure believed to host ammunition stores and Houthi positions. Despite the use of precision weapons, the strikes were not always accurate. According to the Houthis, the coalition also undertook a ‘punishment strategy’ against the local population in an attempt to exacerbate shortages in food, water and power and thereby put pressure on the Houthis. Lack of adequate sanitation and medical care precipitated a humanitarian disaster, with only 45% of hospitals now operational. By August 2015 the UN claimed that around 2,000 civilians had been killed in air strikes since the beginning of Decisive Storm. The Saudi led-coalition was also accused of using US-supplied cluster munitions, notably CBU-105 bombs.
Operation Golden Arrow
In July 2015 the coalition launched Operation Golden Arrow, an Emirati-led amphibious landing in the port of Aden, with air support. During the first 36 hours, the coalition performed 136 air strikes. UAE AH-64D and Bell 407 attack helicopters performed close air support (CAS) during the breakthroughs toward Ma’rib. On August 22 a third Saudi AH-64D was lost, shot down in Ma’rib province. In May 2016, the UAE requested new stocks of air-launched Hellfire missiles, confirming the extensive combat use of the Apaches and Bells.
Following Tochka ballistic missile attacks on Ma’rib and al-Safir air base in September 2015, the coalition deployed UAE Pantsir-S1 and Patriot PAC-2 SAMs, ten AH-64s, plus UH-60s and CH-47Ds, to al-Safir. In addition to helicopters, the UAE has also deployed AT-802 light-attack aircraft to Yemen. A number of Air Tractors were also transferred to help rebuild Yemeni air power and pilots began to train on the type in October 2015.
Emirates in Eritrea
In September 2015 the UAE began to establish military infrastructure in Eritrea, notably in the port of Assab and on the runway of the local airport. Satellite imagery of the base taken last November revealed 12 shelters, five Mirage 2000- 9s, three AT-802s, or Archangels, at least one Chinese-made Wing Loong UAV and various CH-47 and UH-60 helicopters. Assab air base enables the UAE to operate on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula and facilitates the conduct of operations over Yemen.
Costly weapons, but poor accuracy
Over the past decade the RSAF purchased expensive advanced weapons including fighters integrated with advanced targeting pods, and has been supported by equally modern and capable airborne command and control and early warning assets. Despite high-precision weapons, the Yemen campaign seems to illustrate Saudi combat inexperience. However, the Saudi operation has shifted the balance of power in Yemen at an acceptable military cost. The intervention has denied the Houthis a military victory and prevented establishment of a Houthi state on Saudi Arabia’s southern border.
Coalition losses

Yemeni Air Force losses

Originally published in AirForces Monthly Magazine​

 

[muhammed45]

Infographic: Yemen’s war explained in maps and charts​

How strong are the Houthis? And how have seven years of war affected Yemen? Key questions answered, in seven graphics.

(Al Jazeera)
By Mohammed Haddad
Published On 9 Feb 20229 Feb 2022
Save articles to read later and create your own reading list.

Yemen is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises as the war there enters its eighth year.


The UN estimates the war had killed 377,000 people as of the end of 2021, both directly and indirectly through hunger and disease – 70 percent of those deaths are children.

Keep reading​

list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4

2,000 children recruited by Yemen’s Houthis died fighting: UN​

list 2 of 4

Yemen civilians bear the brunt of escalating Houthi-UAE conflict​

list 3 of 4

Timeline: UAE under drone, missile attacks​

list 4 of 4

Who is the shadowy Iraqi militia that attacked the UAE?​

end of list

Nearly half the country (14.5 million) of 30 million people do not have enough food, according to the World Food Programme.
Nearly half (47.5 percent) of the children under five face chronic malnutrition.
At least four million people have been displaced by the seven years of war.

(Al Jazeera)

Key players in the conflict​

In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition – backed by the US – intervened militarily in Yemen in a bid to fight the Houthis, restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government, and reverse what they say is growing Iranian influence in the region.

The armed group made international headlines after seizing control of Saada province in early 2014. They later moved southwards to seize the capital Sanaa, forcing Yemen’s Hadi to flee his presidential palace in Aden for Saudi Arabia.

Amid the instability, several other armed groups emerged, including al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), and others.

The Houthi movement – also known as Ansar Allah – are a movement of mostly Zaidi Shia Muslims from northern Yemen who opposed Hadi’s government and are believed to be supported by Iran.



Years of UN-brokered peace talks have failed to break the deadlock.

(Al Jazeera)

Who controls what in Yemen?​

Seven years since the launch of the Saudi-led campaign, the bulk of Yemen’s northern highlands, as well as Sanaa, remain under the control of Houthi rebels.

The mountainous country between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East shares a 1,300km (800-mile) border with Saudi Arabia. Along its west coast is the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (“Gate of Tears” in Arabic), a vital shipping corridor through which much of the world’s maritime trade passes.


In the south is the port city of Aden, which was captured by the STC in 2019. Aden is the temporary home of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

(Al Jazeera)

Air raids on Yemen​

The Saudi-led coalition has carried out more than 24,000 air raids since 2015, according to data collected by the Yemen Data Project.


Since 2015, human rights group Amnesty International has investigated dozens of air attacks across Yemen and found many instances where civilians were killed with US-made bombs.

(Al Jazeera)

Attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE​

Over the years, Houthi rebels have targeted strategic infrastructure across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including airports, gas fields and oil tankers in the Red Sea.


In January, a UN Security Council report said the Houthis had violated a UN-imposed arms embargo and continued “to source critical components for their weapon systems from companies in Europe and Asia, using a complex network of intermediaries to obscure the chain of custody”.



In recent weeks, tensions escalated as the Houthis started launching drone and missile attacks on the UAE – a member of the Saudi-led coalition.


According to a data analysis by CSIS, Saudi Arabia’s military has intercepted more than 4,000 Houthi missiles, drones and other standoff weapons during the past five years.


In response, the coalition has stepped up attacks in Saada province, northern Yemen and the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.


According to the Conflict Armament Research group, eight types of Houthi-made UAVs have been identified:


Combat UAVs: Qasef-1, Qasef-2K, Sammad-2, Sammad-3

The Qasef drones are estimated to have a range of 150-200km (93-124 miles) while the more advanced Sammads have an estimated maximum range of 1,500km (932 miles) – enough to reach the UAE from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

 

[muhammed45]

Reconnaissance UAVs: Hudhed-1, Raqib, Rased and Sammad-1

(Al Jazeera)
On February 2, a little-known armed group in Iraq calling themselves Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq (AWH), or the True Promise Brigades, claimed to have launched an attack on Abu Dhabi – suggesting the UAE is now being targeted from north and south.
Following the attacks, the US confirmed that it will bolster the UAE’s defences and send a guided-missile warship and advanced fifth-generation fighter jets there. The UAE hosts about 2,000 US troops, who provide early-warning intelligence and collaborate on air defence.

Saudi and Emirati military capabilities​

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have both bought multibillion-dollar missile defence systems from the US.
On January 17, US Central Command chief General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie confirmed that the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) was used in combat for the first time against Houthi missiles fired towards the UAE.
The US military has had a presence in the Gulf for decades and has thousands of troops, as well as a sizable navy presence across the region.

(Al Jazeera)

Middle East military spending​

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest arms importer. In 2020, the oil-rich kingdom spent $57.5bn – 8.4 percent of its GDP – on its military, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) (pdf).

In 2021, the kingdom said it spent some $50bn on its armed forces and is planning to spend about $46bn in 2022.
The US provides Saudi Arabia with 79 percent of its weapons, followed by the UK, with 9 percent and 4 percent from France (pdf). Saudi Arabia is also the main buyer of US, UK and Canadian weapons.
Between 2016 and 2020, nearly a quarter (24 percent) of the US’s, 32 percent of the UK’s and 49 percent of Canada’s total arms exports were to Saudi Arabia.
According to SIPRI, about half (47 percent) of US arms transfers during the past five years were to the Middle East.

(Al Jazeera)
Source: Al Jazeera

(Al-Jazeera is a pro Saud source of information. Hence it calls Ansarallah a rebel group while hiding the fact that they are revolutionary forces of Yemen.)

 

[Fatman17]

Reconnaissance UAVs: Hudhed-1, Raqib, Rased and Sammad-1

(Al Jazeera)
On February 2, a little-known armed group in Iraq calling themselves Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq (AWH), or the True Promise Brigades, claimed to have launched an attack on Abu Dhabi – suggesting the UAE is now being targeted from north and south.
Following the attacks, the US confirmed that it will bolster the UAE’s defences and send a guided-missile warship and advanced fifth-generation fighter jets there. The UAE hosts about 2,000 US troops, who provide early-warning intelligence and collaborate on air defence.

Saudi and Emirati military capabilities​

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have both bought multibillion-dollar missile defence systems from the US.
On January 17, US Central Command chief General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie confirmed that the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) was used in combat for the first time against Houthi missiles fired towards the UAE.
The US military has had a presence in the Gulf for decades and has thousands of troops, as well as a sizable navy presence across the region.

(Al Jazeera)

Middle East military spending​

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest arms importer. In 2020, the oil-rich kingdom spent $57.5bn – 8.4 percent of its GDP – on its military, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) (pdf).

In 2021, the kingdom said it spent some $50bn on its armed forces and is planning to spend about $46bn in 2022.
The US provides Saudi Arabia with 79 percent of its weapons, followed by the UK, with 9 percent and 4 percent from France (pdf). Saudi Arabia is also the main buyer of US, UK and Canadian weapons.
Between 2016 and 2020, nearly a quarter (24 percent) of the US’s, 32 percent of the UK’s and 49 percent of Canada’s total arms exports were to Saudi Arabia.
According to SIPRI, about half (47 percent) of US arms transfers during the past five years were to the Middle East.

(Al Jazeera)
Source: Al Jazeera

(Al-Jazeera is a pro Saud source of information. Hence it calls Ansarallah a rebel group while hiding the fact that they are revolutionary forces of Yemen.)

Very detailed information.

 

[Maarkhoor]

AIR WAR IN YEMEN​

1. Aviation Features
2. Air war in Yemen

By Arnaud Delalande 17th August 2017
FEATURE

Saudi Arabia’s controversial operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen have involved a coalition of Gulf and Arab air arms. Arnaud Delalande provides an air power assessment.
Arnaud Delalande
The Ansar Allah rebel group – also known as the Houthis – took control of the Yemeni capital Sana’a in September 2014. Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa resigned and the Houthis signed a deal with an alliance of other political parties to establish a new, unity government. On March 26, 2015, in response to an appeal from President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, whose government the rebels had deposed, Saudi Arabia launched a military intervention in Yemen. This was undertaken by a coalition of nine Gulf and Arab states and involved air strikes and an aerial and naval blockade of Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition for Operation Decisive Storm included around 100 Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) aircraft including F-15S, Tornado IDS and Typhoon jets supported by A330 tankers and Cougar combat search and rescue helicopters. The Typhoon and F-15S were equipped with Damocles and DB-110 targeting and reconnaissance pods respectively, and carried various Paveway and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs. RSAF support platforms included E-3As and Saab 2000 Erieye airborne early warning and control aircraft.
As the second-largest contributor the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided 30 aircraft, including F-16E/Fs, Mirage 2000s, and at least one A330 tanker. The other aircraft comprised 15 F/A-18Cs from Kuwait, ten Mirage 2000s from Qatar, F-16s operated by Bahrain (15), Egypt, Jordan (six) and Morocco (six), and three Sudanese Su-24Ms.

One of at least five Saudi Apaches lost in the Yemen campaign, this AH-64D crashed in Jizan province in September 2015.
Saudi Arabia’s main objective was to restore the Hadi government-in-exile to power in Sana’a; this demand was reinforced under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 adopted three weeks after the beginning of Decisive Storm.
Saudi Arabia had two other motivations for its intervention. First was the destruction of the threat posed to the Kingdom by Yemen’s ballistic missiles, which had fallen into the hands of the Houthi alliance. The second aim was to prevent the Houthis’ suspected state-sponsor, Iran, from gaining a strategic foothold on the Arabian Peninsula.
Decisive Storm
The first weeks of the campaign neutralised the Yemeni Air Force, notably the shelters believed to house its MiG-29s. Before Decisive Storm, Yemen had fewer than 20 MiG-29s; most were stored at al-Dailami air base (alongside Sana’a International Airport), with a detachment at al-Anad. The Fulcrums’ current fate is uncertain. Air defence systems were also destroyed, including surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries and associated radars around Sana’a and al-Dailami, and, most importantly, tactical and ballistic missile forces.
The first coalition loss was an RSAF F-15S that suffered technical problems over the Gulf of Aden on the second day of the campaign, March 27. The crew ejected safely and was rescued by a US Air Force HH-60G operating from Djibouti.
On April 21, four weeks and more than 2,300 strike sorties after the beginning of the aerial campaign, Decisive Storm ended, and Operation Restore Hope began. The bombing appears to have reduced Houthi movement and resupply by attacking highways and bridges, driving rebel forces from the roads and inhibiting the redeployment of combat elements between urban centres.
The air campaign continued during Restore Hope with strikes against military bases. Al-Dailami was targeted again in early May. Six fighters (one MiG-29, two F-5s, three Su-22s, all probably non-airworthy), one Mi-8 and two Il-76TDs were destroyed. Between May and July, the Saudi led-coalition lost three more aircraft: two AH-64Ds were shot down or crashed in Jizan province close to the Saudi-Yemen border during Houthi attacks on Saudi territory and a Moroccan F-16C was also lost – probably shot down – in Sa’ada province.

A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15S lands at King Khaled AB, Khamis Mushayt during Operation Decisive Storm. The aircraft carries a DB-110 pod on the centreline. The base is home to the RSAF’s 5 Wing, responsible for 6 and 55 Squadrons flying the F-15S.
All photos via author

A rare photograph of UAE AH-64Ds in Aden.

Wreckage of Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16C 08-8008 that crashed in Sa’ada province on May 10, 2015, killing the pilot.
During this second phase of the war, the Saudi-led coalition reportedly also targeted civilian infrastructure believed to host ammunition stores and Houthi positions. Despite the use of precision weapons, the strikes were not always accurate. According to the Houthis, the coalition also undertook a ‘punishment strategy’ against the local population in an attempt to exacerbate shortages in food, water and power and thereby put pressure on the Houthis. Lack of adequate sanitation and medical care precipitated a humanitarian disaster, with only 45% of hospitals now operational. By August 2015 the UN claimed that around 2,000 civilians had been killed in air strikes since the beginning of Decisive Storm. The Saudi led-coalition was also accused of using US-supplied cluster munitions, notably CBU-105 bombs.
Operation Golden Arrow
In July 2015 the coalition launched Operation Golden Arrow, an Emirati-led amphibious landing in the port of Aden, with air support. During the first 36 hours, the coalition performed 136 air strikes. UAE AH-64D and Bell 407 attack helicopters performed close air support (CAS) during the breakthroughs toward Ma’rib. On August 22 a third Saudi AH-64D was lost, shot down in Ma’rib province. In May 2016, the UAE requested new stocks of air-launched Hellfire missiles, confirming the extensive combat use of the Apaches and Bells.
Following Tochka ballistic missile attacks on Ma’rib and al-Safir air base in September 2015, the coalition deployed UAE Pantsir-S1 and Patriot PAC-2 SAMs, ten AH-64s, plus UH-60s and CH-47Ds, to al-Safir. In addition to helicopters, the UAE has also deployed AT-802 light-attack aircraft to Yemen. A number of Air Tractors were also transferred to help rebuild Yemeni air power and pilots began to train on the type in October 2015.
Emirates in Eritrea
In September 2015 the UAE began to establish military infrastructure in Eritrea, notably in the port of Assab and on the runway of the local airport. Satellite imagery of the base taken last November revealed 12 shelters, five Mirage 2000- 9s, three AT-802s, or Archangels, at least one Chinese-made Wing Loong UAV and various CH-47 and UH-60 helicopters. Assab air base enables the UAE to operate on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula and facilitates the conduct of operations over Yemen.
Costly weapons, but poor accuracy
Over the past decade the RSAF purchased expensive advanced weapons including fighters integrated with advanced targeting pods, and has been supported by equally modern and capable airborne command and control and early warning assets. Despite high-precision weapons, the Yemen campaign seems to illustrate Saudi combat inexperience. However, the Saudi operation has shifted the balance of power in Yemen at an acceptable military cost. The intervention has denied the Houthis a military victory and prevented establishment of a Houthi state on Saudi Arabia’s southern border.
Coalition losses

Yemeni Air Force losses

Originally published in AirForces Monthly Magazine​

Can you p.m me pls?

 

[warbird]

very useful. Thankyou.

Messiach.

 

[maverick]

AIR WAR IN YEMEN​

1. Aviation Features
2. Air war in Yemen

By Arnaud Delalande 17th August 2017
FEATURE

Saudi Arabia’s controversial operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen have involved a coalition of Gulf and Arab air arms. Arnaud Delalande provides an air power assessment.
Arnaud Delalande
The Ansar Allah rebel group – also known as the Houthis – took control of the Yemeni capital Sana’a in September 2014. Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa resigned and the Houthis signed a deal with an alliance of other political parties to establish a new, unity government. On March 26, 2015, in response to an appeal from President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, whose government the rebels had deposed, Saudi Arabia launched a military intervention in Yemen. This was undertaken by a coalition of nine Gulf and Arab states and involved air strikes and an aerial and naval blockade of Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition for Operation Decisive Storm included around 100 Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) aircraft including F-15S, Tornado IDS and Typhoon jets supported by A330 tankers and Cougar combat search and rescue helicopters. The Typhoon and F-15S were equipped with Damocles and DB-110 targeting and reconnaissance pods respectively, and carried various Paveway and Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs. RSAF support platforms included E-3As and Saab 2000 Erieye airborne early warning and control aircraft.
As the second-largest contributor the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided 30 aircraft, including F-16E/Fs, Mirage 2000s, and at least one A330 tanker. The other aircraft comprised 15 F/A-18Cs from Kuwait, ten Mirage 2000s from Qatar, F-16s operated by Bahrain (15), Egypt, Jordan (six) and Morocco (six), and three Sudanese Su-24Ms.

One of at least five Saudi Apaches lost in the Yemen campaign, this AH-64D crashed in Jizan province in September 2015.
Saudi Arabia’s main objective was to restore the Hadi government-in-exile to power in Sana’a; this demand was reinforced under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 adopted three weeks after the beginning of Decisive Storm.
Saudi Arabia had two other motivations for its intervention. First was the destruction of the threat posed to the Kingdom by Yemen’s ballistic missiles, which had fallen into the hands of the Houthi alliance. The second aim was to prevent the Houthis’ suspected state-sponsor, Iran, from gaining a strategic foothold on the Arabian Peninsula.
Decisive Storm
The first weeks of the campaign neutralised the Yemeni Air Force, notably the shelters believed to house its MiG-29s. Before Decisive Storm, Yemen had fewer than 20 MiG-29s; most were stored at al-Dailami air base (alongside Sana’a International Airport), with a detachment at al-Anad. The Fulcrums’ current fate is uncertain. Air defence systems were also destroyed, including surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries and associated radars around Sana’a and al-Dailami, and, most importantly, tactical and ballistic missile forces.
The first coalition loss was an RSAF F-15S that suffered technical problems over the Gulf of Aden on the second day of the campaign, March 27. The crew ejected safely and was rescued by a US Air Force HH-60G operating from Djibouti.
On April 21, four weeks and more than 2,300 strike sorties after the beginning of the aerial campaign, Decisive Storm ended, and Operation Restore Hope began. The bombing appears to have reduced Houthi movement and resupply by attacking highways and bridges, driving rebel forces from the roads and inhibiting the redeployment of combat elements between urban centres.
The air campaign continued during Restore Hope with strikes against military bases. Al-Dailami was targeted again in early May. Six fighters (one MiG-29, two F-5s, three Su-22s, all probably non-airworthy), one Mi-8 and two Il-76TDs were destroyed. Between May and July, the Saudi led-coalition lost three more aircraft: two AH-64Ds were shot down or crashed in Jizan province close to the Saudi-Yemen border during Houthi attacks on Saudi territory and a Moroccan F-16C was also lost – probably shot down – in Sa’ada province.

A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15S lands at King Khaled AB, Khamis Mushayt during Operation Decisive Storm. The aircraft carries a DB-110 pod on the centreline. The base is home to the RSAF’s 5 Wing, responsible for 6 and 55 Squadrons flying the F-15S.
All photos via author

A rare photograph of UAE AH-64Ds in Aden.

Wreckage of Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16C 08-8008 that crashed in Sa’ada province on May 10, 2015, killing the pilot.
During this second phase of the war, the Saudi-led coalition reportedly also targeted civilian infrastructure believed to host ammunition stores and Houthi positions. Despite the use of precision weapons, the strikes were not always accurate. According to the Houthis, the coalition also undertook a ‘punishment strategy’ against the local population in an attempt to exacerbate shortages in food, water and power and thereby put pressure on the Houthis. Lack of adequate sanitation and medical care precipitated a humanitarian disaster, with only 45% of hospitals now operational. By August 2015 the UN claimed that around 2,000 civilians had been killed in air strikes since the beginning of Decisive Storm. The Saudi led-coalition was also accused of using US-supplied cluster munitions, notably CBU-105 bombs.
Operation Golden Arrow
In July 2015 the coalition launched Operation Golden Arrow, an Emirati-led amphibious landing in the port of Aden, with air support. During the first 36 hours, the coalition performed 136 air strikes. UAE AH-64D and Bell 407 attack helicopters performed close air support (CAS) during the breakthroughs toward Ma’rib. On August 22 a third Saudi AH-64D was lost, shot down in Ma’rib province. In May 2016, the UAE requested new stocks of air-launched Hellfire missiles, confirming the extensive combat use of the Apaches and Bells.
Following Tochka ballistic missile attacks on Ma’rib and al-Safir air base in September 2015, the coalition deployed UAE Pantsir-S1 and Patriot PAC-2 SAMs, ten AH-64s, plus UH-60s and CH-47Ds, to al-Safir. In addition to helicopters, the UAE has also deployed AT-802 light-attack aircraft to Yemen. A number of Air Tractors were also transferred to help rebuild Yemeni air power and pilots began to train on the type in October 2015.
Emirates in Eritrea
In September 2015 the UAE began to establish military infrastructure in Eritrea, notably in the port of Assab and on the runway of the local airport. Satellite imagery of the base taken last November revealed 12 shelters, five Mirage 2000- 9s, three AT-802s, or Archangels, at least one Chinese-made Wing Loong UAV and various CH-47 and UH-60 helicopters. Assab air base enables the UAE to operate on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula and facilitates the conduct of operations over Yemen.
Costly weapons, but poor accuracy
Over the past decade the RSAF purchased expensive advanced weapons including fighters integrated with advanced targeting pods, and has been supported by equally modern and capable airborne command and control and early warning assets. Despite high-precision weapons, the Yemen campaign seems to illustrate Saudi combat inexperience. However, the Saudi operation has shifted the balance of power in Yemen at an acceptable military cost. The intervention has denied the Houthis a military victory and prevented establishment of a Houthi state on Saudi Arabia’s southern border.
Coalition losses

Yemeni Air Force losses

Originally published in AirForces Monthly Magazine​

It seems like that the Moroccon airforce F16 which was shotdown was made in 1980 and overhauled and upgraded to C standard in 2008.

 

[xbat]

this foolish war needs to be ended asap, yemen is dying slowly because of starving, shame for all muslims.

 

[GoMig-21]

It seems like that the Moroccon airforce F16 which was shotdown was made in 1980 and overhauled and upgraded to C standard in 2008.

Considering the number of different aircraft and all the sorties they flew in that period for Operation Decisive Storm, their losses are incredibly low. And this graph doesn't even include the Typhoons that the RSAF used which were substantial. Granted they weren't necessarily fighting a near peer adversary by any stretch of the imagination, but they still were criticized for their lack of experience mostly when it came to their use of PGMs. Had they gone up against an enemy with not only a powerful ADS but a decent air force, it would've been a much more difficult challenge. Objectively speaking, this was about as much of a cakewalk as it could've been. So low losses are to be expected and that is what occurred.

The other missing factor in this graph below is the Egyptian data. Along with Jordan (which is listed on this graph) was Egypt which also participated with 6 F-16s and at one point there was information released that one of them was shot down. The EAF & RSAF both denied it and now it's not listed on this sheet. Perhaps the Typhoon is not listed because it didn't suffer any losses either.

 

[The SC]

Considering the number of different aircraft and all the sorties they flew in that period for Operation Decisive Storm, their losses are incredibly low. And this graph doesn't even include the Typhoons that the RSAF used which were substantial. Granted they weren't necessarily fighting a near peer adversary by any stretch of the imagination, but they still were criticized for their lack of experience mostly when it came to their use of PGMs. Had they gone up against an enemy with not only a powerful ADS but a decent air force, it would've been a much more difficult challenge. Objectively speaking, this was about as much of a cakewalk as it could've been. So low losses are to be expected and that is what occurred.

The other missing factor in this graph below is the Egyptian data. Along with Jordan (which is listed on this graph) was Egypt which also participated with 6 F-16s and at one point there was information released that one of them was shot down. The EAF & RSAF both denied it and now it's not listed on this sheet. Perhaps the Typhoon is not listed because it didn't suffer any losses either.

View attachment 30056

2 F-15s were lost due to accidents in KSA.. this has nothing to do with Yemen..
Counting them losses in Yemen shows this report's lack of seriousness..

 

[.44 Magnum Lever Action]

(Al-Jazeera is a pro Saud source of information. Hence it calls Ansarallah a rebel group while hiding the fact that they are revolutionary forces of Yemen.)

Wrong

 

[muhammed45]

Wrong

Not completely wrong, not completely true. Qataris are more orthodox than people of Arabian peninsula, difference is their kingdom is more reasonable and the family ruling Qatar are good people. That's an exception among Arab kingships.

But after all, they have considerations as a kingdom. It leaves them in the middle.

Al-Jazeera reports are neutral and based on facts with a bit of kingdom's old considerations.

 

[ziaulislam]

An Arab war against Arabs

Sweet?
Then they get upset when we say what and where are the Arabs

 

[GoMig-21]

2 F-15s were lost due to accidents in KSA.. this has nothing to do with Yemen..
Counting them losses in Yemen shows this report's lack of seriousness..

Yep. The fact that the two F-15 crashes happened in KSA and that they made no effort to research where they happened or if those two instances were associated with the war effort or not is troubling and makes the info a little but suspect.

They could've been taking off and on their way to drop bombs in Sana'a, sure. Or they could've been returning from dropping bombs in Sana'a or somehow in Yemen or the info was able to make a simple connection to them being involved in the war, then they would be reliable.

But if they researched a bit more and let's say found out the two instances involved a training mission or a patrol over eastern Saudiya or one of hundreds of separate reasons the RSAF would conduct an F-15 (of which they have 272 aircraft of just that model! lol) flight would mean it had nothing to do with the war. So listing it wouldn't be appropriate since it's not relevant. That's the problem with this I agree with you champ.

They also assumed the Moroccan F-16 was "probably" shot down. It could be that it was in fact shot down, but to describe it as "probably shot down" is nothing short of presumptive and terrible journalism which then hints at bias since they never present a single factual circumstance that would otherwise support that assumption. So why make it? Why even say that it was "probably" shot down? That reeks of presumptiveness based on nothing. All they had to say was "it crashed due to unknown reasons" and leave it at that lol. Not too difficult.