The Iran-backed Houthis have shot down at least three US Reaper drones with limited weapons systems and a number of restrictions. The Houthis last week claimed to have downed a US MQ-9 Reaper drone with a surface-to-air missile in a desert region of Yemen’s central Marib province. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels, however, claimed “this drone is the sixth of its kind to be downed”. Yemen received a large number of weapons, including sophisticated ballistic missiles, coastal defence, anti-tank and anti-air missile tech from the Soviet Union. However, experts say that after 30 years, the inherited Soviet systems would not have been enough for the Houthis to target sophisticated Western aircraft.