This Harrier Pilot Shot Down 7 Houthi Drones



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A Marine Corps AV-8B II Plus Harrier pilot flying from USS Bataan (LHD 5) downed seven Houthi drones while the amphib was operating in the Red Sea at the end of 2023. Does that make him the first American ace since Duke Cunningham earned that status during the Vietnam War?

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41 thoughts on “This Harrier Pilot Shot Down 7 Houthi Drones”

  1. mad shout out to all those pilots who are defending the global trade routes, they might not get called an "ace" at the end of the day but they are legends – All those personnel even, whether they are pulling the triggers or not

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  2. Huge credit to CPT Ehrhart. Love that a USMC harrier driver has the top drone score right now. I saw so many non-Harrier drivers bash on the Harrier. "It's so slow", "It's obsolete", etc. Glad to see the Harrier, the big deck amphibs, and the USMC get some well deserved credit.

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  3. That’s why you NEVER EVER EVER 1. Place the FOB next to the HAB and 2. NEVER EVER EVER place the FOB or HAB directly on the flag. You know with 100% certainty that the enemy will be coming directly to the point which will most certainly cause your HAB to become proxies. In this instance, nothing was done to hide the HAB so it was simple to proxy. Unfortunately, because the FOB and HAB were placed directly on the flag, your secondary FOB (if there is one) will be a LONG distance away.

    There is ONE exception to placing the FOB and HAB directly on the point: when you have one or two squads to defend and when the defense point is subterranean such as a train tunnel, submarine depot or other similar location. At that point, as long as you can keep them away from your FOB and HAB, a strong defense should win the game.

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  4. So a Sidewinder costs around 300k, AMRAAM around 1mil and some crappy Houthi drone probably no more than 10-20k. Not to mention those are Iranian made drones are filled with Western components. No matter who's fighting who, Military Industrial Complex always wins.

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  5. Can you expand on that last comment; is shipping in the Red Sea back to normal levels now due to the over-watch protection of the US and other Navies? Have the insurance rates dropped for that route?

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  6. This is nothing to be proud of. We're trading MULTI MILLION dollar punches with an opponent that gets its ammo for free from the manufacturer that builds them for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Just the FUEL cost for the jet exceeds the entire cost of their "strike package". This is NOT SUSTAINABLE.

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  7. If you're flying at 400mph next to a 'drone' with 850 kg (1,870 lb) of high explosive and trying to physically nudge it off course with your own wings, you're an ACE for doing it once. Shooting one down from behind was probably more dangerous as they closed to about 250 yards in order to get gun convergence and the warhead would then explode as the shells/bullets hit. The blast would knock the 'shooter' aircraft violently and would need a skilful pilot to recover and since the V1s flew under 4,500ft, the pilot didn't have a lot of time to do that. Also, flying debris and shrapnel was a huge risk. About 1,000 V1s were downed 'air to air'.

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  8. Ward, i think those guys who fly shoot anything out of the atmosphere. That is an ( agent against the free world) Needs to be called an ace..the so called additions 1:49 for various classifying an "ace" should not be used.Hence it should stay at 5.

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  9. It is an interesting question Commander. There isn’t many pilots who have even scored an air-to-air kill UAV or otherwise that is still in service. Certainly no ace pilots, personally I say let the pilots decide on that. I was just a ground pounder.

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  10. Good afternoon Ward, there was recent news today regarding Chinese warplanes being able to vanish from enemy radar. This was on the Indian WION news channel. Would you be so kind to give us a review on our capabilities and what if any truth it is to this latest news about Chinese aircraft? Thank you Ward. Your informational updates are very much appreciated. – Frankie G. 🗽

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  11. Just a little bit of hypothetical thinking.

    Would a possible way to engage these drones be via the laser guided version of the Hydra 70…APKWS, I think is the acronym. You mentioned the Harriers involved carrying Litening targeting pods. Air force has fired these rockets off A-10 and F16s. Navy and USMC have used them off Hornets. And the munition forms the basis of the VAMPIRE system sent to Ukraine for anti drone use.

    May be a logical, and cheaper, method (if effective) than the Sidewinders given drone type limited IR signature.

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  12. It's not that hard … your "bandit" is a slow moving drone that can only go 130-200 knots, depending on type … and no one's shooting back at you. You could do it in my ol' A-4 Skyhawk with the Colt Mk 12 20mm cannons, even tho' they're not "really "well suited" for Air-to-Air work. Piece of cake … and cheap at about US$4/round.

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  13. Ward Carroll! I think your idea should be pushed up the chain of command and officially accepted as the new system to differentiate between ACES! Ergo, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta and a combination thereof!

    Oraah! Great job Ward! Please keep us in the loop if the following happens! A) If and when you have officially submitted your recommendations as far as the above classifications? B) Update us as to the responses you received per your recommendations.

    SEMPER FI

    Reply

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