In a significant turn of events during the U.S. military’s Operation Rough Rider, a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, recognized as one of the most advanced stealth fighter jets globally, had to perform evasive maneuvers to evade a surface-to-air missile fired by Houthi forces in Yemen.
This incident, which took place during a bombing campaign that commenced on March 15, 2025, under President Donald Trump’s administration, represents the first recorded instance of an F-35 encountering a direct threat from Houthi air defenses. A U.S. official, who spoke to The War Zone, confirmed the near miss, stating, ‘They got close enough that the jet had to maneuver.’
A U.S. F-35 had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid Houthi SAM missiles.
“They got close enough that the [F-35] had to maneuver,” the official said.
Source: TWZ pic.twitter.com/Iq9WweUYAM
— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 14, 2025
This information, which aligns with previous reports from The New York Times, highlights the unexpected sophistication of Houthi anti-aircraft capabilities and raises important concerns regarding the vulnerabilities of advanced U.S. military technology in asymmetric warfare.
The incident, occurring amidst a campaign that has already experienced considerable losses, emphasizes the evolving challenges faced by American air forces in the Middle East. Operation Rough Rider, a comprehensive air campaign aimed at Houthi-controlled regions in Yemen, was initiated to weaken the group’s military infrastructure and reduce its attacks on regional shipping and Israeli targets. The operation has utilized various U.S. assets, including F-35s, F-16 Fighting Falcons, and MQ-9 Reaper drones, with the latter experiencing significant losses.
F-35 Had To Maneuver To Evade Houthi Surface-To-Air Missile: U.S. Official.
Probably some kind of IR missile. https://t.co/OGFzIaNXAN pic.twitter.com/WtPWtkXFBw
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝕯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝕯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱△ 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇺🇲🇬🇷 (@TheDeadDistrict) May 14, 2025
According to The New York Times, Houthi forces successfully shot down seven MQ-9 drones, each valued at around $30 million, within the first month of the campaign, severely hindering U.S. Central Command’s capacity to conduct surveillance and precision strikes. The same report indicated that Houthi air defenses nearly struck several F-16s and an F-35, heightening the risk of American casualties.
The recent F-35 incident, although it did not result in a direct hit, has highlighted the evolving technological and tactical aspects of the conflict, especially regarding the Houthi’s capability to confront some of the most sophisticated military assets in the U.S. inventory.
The F-35 Lightning II, created by Lockheed Martin, is a series of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters intended for ground attack and air superiority missions. With a unit price surpassing $100 million for the F-35A variant, this aircraft is a fundamental element of U.S. air power, featuring cutting-edge stealth technology, sensor integration, and network-enabled operations. It is outfitted with the AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar, which offers exceptional situational awareness, and the Distributed Aperture System (DAS), a network of six infrared sensors that provide comprehensive missile detection and tracking capabilities. The AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare suite allows it to disrupt enemy radar systems and deploy countermeasures such as infrared flares and Nulka decoys to neutralize incoming missiles.
The F-35’s stealthy design minimizes its radar signature, complicating detection efforts, while its Pratt & Whitney F135 engine enables speeds of up to Mach 1.6 and a combat radius exceeding 600 miles. Available in three configurations—F-35A for the Air Force, F-35B for short takeoff and vertical landing, and F-35C for carrier operations—the aircraft has been deployed worldwide, with F-35As from Hill Air Force Base and F-35Cs from the USS Carl Vinson operating in the Middle East during Rough Rider. Although the specific variant involved in the incident has not been revealed, the advanced systems of the jet likely contributed significantly to its ability to evade threats.
The missile launched by the Houthi forces, which triggered the evasive maneuvers of the F-35, is likely part of a surprisingly resilient air defense network. Supported by Iranian technical expertise, the Houthis have created a combination of indigenous and modified anti-aircraft systems, such as the Barq-1 and Barq-2 surface-to-air missile systems. These systems are thought to be adaptations of Soviet-era 2K12 Kub and 9K37 Buk systems, capable of engaging targets at ranges between 30 to 70 kilometers and altitudes up to 20 kilometers, thus posing a threat to low-flying aircraft. Additionally, the Saqr [or 358] missile, a loitering surface-to-air weapon utilizing infrared guidance, has been deployed, presenting a distinct challenge due to its capacity to bypass conventional countermeasures.
Reports indicate that Houthi air defenses utilize radar systems like the Russian-made P-18 and Iranian Meraj-4, which offer early warning and targeting information. Although these systems do not match the sophistication of modern Western or Russian counterparts like the S-400, their adaptability and cost-effectiveness have rendered them successful against high-value targets. The Houthis’ achievement in downing seven MQ-9 drones, which have limited stealth capabilities and operate at medium altitudes, highlights their skill in integrating radar, missiles, and guerrilla tactics to exploit weaknesses in U.S. air operations.
The evasive actions executed by the F-35 pilot exemplified both human expertise and technological capability. When a surface-to-air missile is detected, pilots generally utilize a mix of high-G turns, rapid altitude adjustments, and spiral maneuvers to disrupt the missile’s lock.
The F-35’s Distributed Aperture System (DAS) likely detected the missile’s thermal signature, providing an early warning, while the Barracuda suite may have deployed flares or interfered with the missile’s guidance system. Standard evasion tactics for radar-guided missiles include ‘beaming,’ where the pilot maneuvers perpendicular to the radar to reduce the aircraft’s signature, and ‘notching,’ which involves descending into the terrain to hide the aircraft’s location. For infrared-guided missiles like the Saqr, pilots typically release flares to generate false heat signatures and perform erratic maneuvers to evade tracking.
Although the F-35 lacks the agility of the F-16, which can execute 9G turns, its advanced sensor suite and electronic warfare capabilities offer a considerable advantage in these situations. The pilot’s success in avoiding the missile highlights the critical role of training, as even the most sophisticated technology relies on human decision-making in life-threatening scenarios.
This incident took place within the larger framework of Operation Rough Rider, during which the U.S. military has targeted over 1,000 Houthi positions since mid-March, as reported by U.S. Central Command. These operations have focused on command-and-control centers, weapons depots, and air defense systems, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Houthi fighters and several leaders.
Some crazy moments in this NYT story about the Houthi campaign:
— they almost shot down an F-35
— it cost $1 billion for 30 days
— it used so many precision munitions that Pentagon contingency planners started to freak out
— CENTCOM’s metric of success was “bombs dropped” pic.twitter.com/N0J8IPjRea— Emma Ashford (@EmmaMAshford) May 13, 2025
Nevertheless, the Houthis have persisted in launching ballistic missiles and drones, including a significant attack on May 4, 2025, that impacted near Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport, leading to Israeli retaliatory strikes on Houthi facilities in Hodeidah and Sanaa. The campaign, which has cost over $1 billion and utilized thousands of munitions, has not achieved a decisive outcome, with Houthi forces continuing to exert influence beyond Yemen’s borders. The loss of two F/A-18 Super Hornets from the USS Harry S. Truman, one due to a sharp maneuver to evade Houthi fire, further exemplifies the operational difficulties posed by the group’s air defenses.
Historically, advanced aircraft have been vulnerable to ground-based threats, a reality that is not new. In 1999, a U.S. F-117 Nighthawk, one of the pioneering stealth aircraft, was downed over Serbia by a modified S-125 Neva missile system, revealing the shortcomings of early stealth technology against adaptive foes.
The current Houthi threat to the F-35 echoes the challenges encountered by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, where Soviet-supplied SA-2 missiles compelled pilots to devise new tactics and countermeasures. The F-35’s ability to survive in this context underscores advancements in stealth and electronic warfare since those earlier conflicts, yet it also serves as a reminder that no platform is completely invulnerable.
In comparison to competing systems like Russia’s Su-57 or China’s J-20, the F-35 excels in sensor fusion and network-centric warfare capabilities, enabling it to assimilate data from various sources and coordinate with other assets.
Nevertheless, the Houthi incident indicates that even these strengths can be challenged by determined, low-tech adversaries. The Houthi air defense network, while effective, operates on a different level than cutting-edge systems like Russia’s S-400 or China’s HQ-9. The S-400, boasting a range of 400 kilometers and the capacity to engage multiple targets at once, epitomizes modern air defense, capable of posing a threat to even fifth-generation fighters like the F-35. Similarly, the HQ-9, China’s counterpart, provides comparable capabilities with its advanced radar and missile technology. In contrast, the Houthi systems are based on older designs, enhanced with Iranian support to improve their effectiveness.
The Houthis’ success against U.S. assets, especially the MQ-9, is attributed to their strategic use of surprise, mobility, and the integration of low-cost drones and missiles. This asymmetric strategy enables them to mitigate their technological shortcomings, posing a continuous threat to coalition air operations in the area. The event has significant ramifications for U.S. military strategy and technology advancement. The vulnerability of the MQ-9 underscores the necessity for more robust unmanned platforms, possibly featuring stealth capabilities or sophisticated electronic warfare systems.
Although the F-35 has successfully avoided the missile threat, it may need enhancements to its countermeasures to effectively respond to emerging threats like the Saqr missile. The U.S. military’s dependence on expensive platforms, with the F-35 program exceeding $428 billion in costs, raises concerns regarding cost-effectiveness in engagements with non-state actors. The Pentagon has initiated investigations into next-generation air dominance strategies, including the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, which seeks to combine manned and unmanned systems to counter advanced air defenses.
The incident involving the Houthis could expedite these initiatives, leading to a reevaluation of how the U.S. asserts air power in contested regions. While public response to the incident has been minimal, defense analysts have voiced apprehensions about its consequences. Joseph Trevithick, a contributor to The War Zone, remarked in a recent article that the Houthi air defense capabilities have significantly advanced, utilizing a combination of legacy systems and innovative tactics to challenge U.S. air superiority.
Although the Pentagon has not released an official statement regarding the F-35 incident, the overarching issues surrounding Rough Rider have come under scrutiny. The campaign’s significant expenses, along with the loss of drones and near-misses involving manned aircraft, have sparked discussions about the viability of prolonged air operations against resilient foes.
The ceasefire declared by President Trump on May 6, 2025, with mediation from Oman, has temporarily halted U.S. strikes; however, the ongoing assaults by the Houthis on Israel indicate that the conflict is far from settled.
From a technological standpoint, the F-35’s encounter with a Houthi missile highlights the complex relationship between offensive and defensive strategies in contemporary warfare. The aircraft’s ability to survive demonstrates the robustness of its design, yet the fact that it was targeted raises questions about the effectiveness of stealth and air dominance.
The Houthis, utilizing a mix of modified systems and guerrilla tactics, have shown that even non-state actors can challenge the operations of a superpower. This incident, while just one example, serves as a significant warning: the spread of advanced air defense systems, even among irregular forces, necessitates ongoing innovation and adaptation. As the U.S. military prepares for the future, the insights gained from Yemen are likely to influence its strategies for air combat, including the creation of new countermeasures and the enhancement of tactics for engaging low-tech yet resourceful adversaries.
The F-35’s narrow escape in Yemen raises a critical question: if a group like the Houthis can pose a threat to one of the most advanced fighter jets globally, what obstacles might arise in confrontations with more sophisticated adversaries?
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