The US military’s ongoing campaign against the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, launched on March 15, has encountered significant setbacks, primarily due to the loss of American drones, which have hindered key surveillance operations, CNN reported on Friday, citing US officials familiar with the situation.
US officials had initially hoped to establish air superiority over Yemen within 30 days of launching the campaign, setting the stage for a shift to “phase two,” which would involve more aggressive surveillance and targeting of Houthi leadership, the report noted.
However, reports of repeated destruction of MQ-9 Reaper drones, used for gathering intelligence and conducting surveillance, have delayed those plans.
“We are aware of the Houthi reports that these MQ-9s have been shot down,” a US defense official told CNN. “While hostile fire is likely a probable cause, the circumstances of each incident are still under investigation.”
Without boots on the ground in Yemen, the US military heavily depends on drones for surveillance, battlefield damage assessments, and tracking Houthi activities, officials said.
These platforms are especially vital in the Red Sea region, which holds significant strategic importance for US interests. However, as US officials noted, the Houthis have demonstrated a growing ability to target and destroy these drones, complicating efforts to gather actionable intelligence and maintain operational momentum.
Since the campaign began on March 15, the US military has hit over 700 targets and carried out more than 300 airstrikes.
These operations have forced the Houthis to retreat underground, leaving them in a disorganized state. Still, the loss of drones has made it challenging to fully assess the impact on Houthi weapons stockpiles and their operational capacity.
“The loss of drones has complicated our ability to assess how much we have degraded their weapons capabilities,” one official explained.
Despite the intensity of US airstrikes, the Houthis have continued to launch missile attacks. In the past six weeks, they have fired 77 one-way drones, 30 cruise missiles, 24 ballistic missiles, and 23 surface-to-air missiles, the report noted.
These attacks, aimed at US and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, as well as Israel, have largely continued unabated. US intelligence assessments indicate that the Houthis’ missile and command-and-control structures remain largely intact, which further complicates efforts to neutralize the group, according to the report.
US campaign against the Houthis progressing despite setbacks
US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Dave Eastburn shared additional details on the campaign’s progress, noting that strikes have successfully destroyed multiple key Houthi facilities, including command centers and weapons storage sites.
“Credible open sources report over 650 Houthi casualties to date,” Eastburn said. He also pointed out that Houthi missile launches have decreased by 87%, and one-way drone attacks have dropped by 65% since the operation began.
The costs of the operation have also surged, with the campaign totaling nearly $1 billion in its first three weeks. US officials noted that the operation has strained US resources, particularly as substantial amounts of long-range weaponry, vital for potential conflicts in the Pacific, have been used up.
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