Popular Mechanics:
Middle Eastern countries armed with the U.S.-made Patriot missile system have shot down over 100 ballistic missiles in the past two years, DefenseNews reports. The article highlights the largely underreported missile war between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on one side and Yemeni Houthi rebels and their Iranian backers on the other.
According to U.S. defense contractor Raytheon, maker of the Patriot air defense missile system, Patriot operators in the Middle East have shot down these more than 100 enemy ballistic missiles since the year Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened on behalf of the government in the Yemeni Civil War. Shortly afterward, Yemeni rebels, using stocks of Yemeni missiles and missiles provided by Iran, started launching those ballistic missiles against Saudi and UAE targets. In September 2015, a devastating missile attack killed 45 UAE troops at a forward base in Yemen, an attack that also damaged or destroyed Apache attack helicopters.
