Video shows Houthi rebels in Yemen using a jury-rigged Russian fighter jet missile to take on an F-15
- Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that one of its fighter aircraft was "intercepted" by a "hostile air defense missile."
- New video shows the true extent of the fighting.
- Saudi Arabia said the missile used was not originally of Yemeni origin, and proves that Iran has been arming the country, and that their jet survived.
- An expert told Business Insider that it's unlikely a fighter jet could survive such a massive fireball.
Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that one of its fighter aircraft was "intercepted" by a "hostile air defense missile," and now video has emerged showing the true extent of the fighting.
Saudi Arabia said the missile used was not originally of Yemeni origin, and proves that Iran has been arming the country.
Experts who analyzed the film, released by Houthi rebels, said it showed a R-27T, or a Soviet-era missile usually found "hanging under the wing of a Russian-built aircraft," Justin Bronk, an air combat expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider.
The missile, with a heat-seeking sensor and a solid range of about 70 kilometers when fired from the air, is seen in the video bursting upwards and eventually erupting in a fireball.
The Saudis maintain the missile did not down the jet, which they claim returned back to base. The Houthis claim they downed the jet.
Saudi fighter jets likely have decoys and defensive measures on board, but according to Bronk, "I would be reasonably surprised if a fast jet could emit that amount of fire on impact and get home."
No matter the outcome, the fact that Houthi rebels in Yemen have demonstrated their ability to rig a Russian fighter jet missile to fire at Saudi jets from the ground shows they've advanced and increased their warfighting abilities.