Houthis claim Saudi F-15 shootdown over Yemen as Mecca drone row escalates

Yemen’s Houthi movement said on September 16, 2026, that it shot down a Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 over Marib Governorate. Saudi authorities had not commented on the claim as of publication. 

Houthis claim locally made missile brought down F-15 

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement carried by the group’s al-Masirah television network that the fighter was downed by a locally made surface-to-air missile. He did not say when the engagement took place or identify the missile system used. 

Saree said Houthi air defenses then fired further locally made missiles at two formations of Saudi F-15 and Eurofighter Typhoon jets that entered Marib airspace to search for the downed aircraft, and that the formations withdrew. He also claimed Saudi F-15s and Typhoons had carried out more than 450 airstrikes across several Yemeni provinces. 

The claim of locally made weaponry comes days after AI company Anthropic disclosed   that a cell in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen had used its Claude AI model to develop guidance software for rockets and advanced missiles. Anthropic said the group had conducted an apparently unsuccessful guided rocket test but found no evidence that it had fielded an operational weapon. 

Saudi F-15 loss remains unconfirmed 

The claim has not been independently verified. Neither the Saudi-led coalition nor the Saudi Ministry of Defense had addressed it as of publication. 

Saudi Arabia operates more than 200 F-15 fighters, a fleet for which the US State Department approved a proposed $3 billion sustainment package in February 2026 . 

Previous Houthi shootdown claims have coincided with confirmed losses. On February 15, 2020, the coalition said through the Saudi Press Agency that a Royal Saudi Air Force Tornado had crashed in al-Jawf Governorate, a day after the Houthis said they had shot it down. The coalition statement did not give a cause. In November 2023, US officials confirmed that Houthi forces had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone off Yemen’s coast . 

Saudi Arabia and Houthis clash over Mecca drone incident 

Saree also rejected Saudi accusations that the Houthis had targeted Mecca, saying Yemen posed no threat to Islamic holy sites and that the group’s operations targeted Saudi oil facilities and military bases. A Houthi military source had issued a similar denial through the Houthi-run Saba news agency on September 15, 2026. 

The denials answer a coalition statement, published by the Saudi Press Agency, in which spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki said Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone at 18:50 local time on September 15, 2026. According to the statement, the interception took place south of Mecca, before the drone entered the city’s prohibited airspace.