Video of an American underwater drone in the hands of the Houthis
In Yemen, Houthi rebels were able to seize a highly advanced underwater drone, according to numerous posts on social media shared by accounts close to the Yemeni rebels. The video is supposed to provide proof. The RFI looked into the question. Ultimately, this is fake news released online to increase confusion as naval and air skirmishes have become frequent in the Red Sea.
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The video circulating on social media only takes thirty seconds, but it has been widely shared by various accounts in the Arab world, in Turkey, and even by some Russian-speaking accounts. We see frogmen moving around a small yellow torpedo-shaped submarine.
Video taken out of context, supposedly showing rebels seizing a US underwater drone in Yemen
A video has gone viral showing the Houthis seizing one of the US Navy's newest autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) “Remus 600” off the coast of Yemen.
According to some rumours, the device is already under study by specialists from Iran. pic.twitter.com/Ytiz2Inu1a
– Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) February 21, 2024
According to many comments, it is Remus 600: ” The US Navy's newest underwater drone, the Houthis have just captured one of them ». Other netizens add ” They will send it to Iran to be copied “. Photos are often accompanied by video. This footage shows gray debris on the beach.
A quick search reveals that the Remus 600 aircraft used by the US Navy are mostly painted gray or black. Therefore, this information attracts our attention.
It has been verified that the underwater drone seen in the video is actually a robot intended for deep surveillance. It has already fallen into the hands of the Houthis, but that is nothing new. A reverse image search proves that the video has been circulating for at least six years.
On YouTube we find a similar video, but it dates back to 2018.
Upon closer inspection, the gray debris found on the beach was found to come from a drone, the MQ-9 Reaper, that may have been shot down by the Houthis. The Pentagon confirmed the loss of the plane on Wednesday, February 21.
Identifying the parts of the Reaper plane found in the Red Sea
A video clip published by the Houthis yesterday showed parts of the MQ-9A ER Reaper drone that was shot down. Video analysis of the wreckage shows that the drone carried another example of the mysterious capsule that appeared in Japan, Syria, Kuwait and Romania, with some changes. 1/2 https://t.co/WeCYuBhaJo pic.twitter.com/69u1EEc41D
– Amelia Smith (@ameliaairheart) February 20, 2024
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