The F-15SA is among the most advanced versions of the venerable twin-tailed jet.
Yemen’s Houthi militant group has claimed the shootdown of a Boeing F-15SA fighter operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF).
In a video posted on social media, an F-15 is shown through an infrared camera, followed by the night launch of a surface-to-air missile.
The fighter conducts a series of aggressive maneuvers during which it appears to dispense chaff, a countermeasure against radar-seeking missiles.
It then appears to suffer a direct hit from a missile, setting it ablaze. The footage cuts to burning wreckage on the ground at night. It is not clear if the aircrew – the F-15SA has two seats – was able to eject.
More footage, apparently shot at dawn, shows burning wreckage on the ground. Militants with AK-47 assault rifles prop up the aircraft’s heavily scarred tail to reveal the registration number 5539.
The shootdown apparently occurred on 16 September, and the Houthis have said that a “locally manufactured surface-to-air missile” was used. Saudi officials have yet to confirm a lost aircraft.
Saudi Arabia has been in conflict with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia group for some years, with violence flaring up in recent days. The group has conducted a lightning offensive, which has included long-range strikes against Saudi targets and the seizing of key ports along the Red Sea Coast, as well as strategic islands that command the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Houthi actions mark a regional broadening of the war that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President launched against Iran in February. The two leaders had hoped that airpower alone could for a quick, decisive victory over Tehran, but the Iranian regime has remained defiant.
The Houthis have proven themselves to be a formidable opponent. From March to May 2025 the US military conducted an inconclusive conflict against the group, which was launching missiles and drones at shipping in the Red Sea.
If confirmed, the loss of an F-15SA is a blow to Riyadh, as the variant is among the most capable F-15s globally. The jets, delivered between 2016-20, are equipped with a modern electronic warfare suite, the BAE Systems AN/ALQ-239 DEWS (Digital Electronic Warning System).
In February, a Boeing official said that Riyadh was considering upgrading its F-15s to a capability comparable to the latest F-15EX standard. Upgrades would see the integration of the Raytheon APG-82 active electronically arrayed radar, and an improved EW system, likely the AN/ALQ-250 EPAWSS (Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System).
The RSAF operates the second-largest fleet of F-15s in the world, behind only the US Air Force, with 232 examples in use, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. That total includes around 150 SA- and SR-model jets, with the latter standard having already been modified from the earlier F-15S guise.
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