Israeli F-35 shoots down Houthi cruise missile

Footage released on 2 November by the Israeli Air Force showing the moments before an F-35I shoots down a Houthi cruise missile. (Israeli Air Force)

An Israeli Air Force (IAF) Lockheed Martin F-35I Adir combat aircraft shot down a cruise missile fired from Yemen by the Iranian-backed Ansar Allah group, known as Houthis.

The IAF announced the event on 2 November, releasing F-35I electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) footage of the engagement.

“In recent days, the IAF’s control and detection systems identified a cruise missile launched from the southeast towards Israeli airspace. The systems tracked the trajectory of the cruise missile and launched fighter planes of the ‘Adir’ type, which successfully intercepted it,” the IAF said on its official X (formerly Twitter) site.

The footage showed what seemed to be a turbojet-powered cruise missile flying at high speed and low level before being struck by a missile and destroyed. Footage and information previously released by the Houthis refer to a type of cruise missile known as the Quds series.