this post was submitted on 18 May 2025
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According to new reporting from the New York Times, a Houthi surface-to-air (SAM) missile barely missed an American F-35 fifth-generation fighter, the crown jewel of the U.S. fighter inventory. The F-35, participating in Operation Rough Rider against the Houthis, was forced to take evasive action to avoid the missile.

The incident raises questions about the survivability of one of America’s most advanced fighters, and raises concerns over how effective the relatively unsophisticated Houthi air defense system has been at hampering U.S. action.

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[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 25 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I have a soft spot for new planes being shot down by "outdated" technologies.

[translations, copypasted, so you don't have to visit the source on reddit]

translations:

  • "Sorry, your plane is on fire"(rhymes in Serbian)
  • "Mine is visible, but doesn't crash!"
  • "Airplane junkyard: 'We have F-117 parts!'"
  • "The ground suddenly got in his way"
  • "Missed the Surčin airport"
  • "Look, daddy, no hands!"
  • "What's going to happen with the White House? I'm going to set it on fire!"
  • "Give us another one... I need a roof for my pig pen!"

Followed by three more phrases which don't translate well.

  • "Like a child knows what is invisible"
  • "We'll fuck, NATO, my bro!"
  • "Short but 'effective' "
[–] yeather@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Why are three marked off? They only shot down the one?

[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The reddit thread proposes it could have been a lie for propaganda.

[–] yeather@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Looking into it, it seems only three NATO planes seem to have been shot down total over the conflict. So maybe the propaganda piece was showing total shot down planes and using the F-117 as the model?

[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Good point, if they were already shot down then it's possible.

[–] folaht@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

How reliable are US media reports?

[–] yeather@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If the Serbs shot more than one down we would have heard about it in 2000.

[–] folaht@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

From who?
Did you hear about the Russians shooting down a plane armed with a nuclear missile in 2024?

[–] yeather@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

From the Serbs? They bragged about shooting one 20 year old plane down. They would 100% brag about 3.

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 days ago

They are supposedly invisible, so you could never know

[–] anton@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Goes to show, that technology can only get you so far, if your doctrine sucks.

Also, they downed one and damaged another, why did they cross of three?

[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Also, they downed one and damaged another, why did they cross of three?

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