The National Interest: America Attempts to Move Past the “MQ-9” Scandal in Yemen.

Sanaa forces’ air defenses shot down twenty-one U.S. MQ-9 drones, prompting Washington to develop a new replacement aircraft in an effort to mask its failure in Yemen. The American magazine The National Interest confirmed that “the United States is working on developing an unmanned aircraft known as the MQ-Next, which will replace the MQ-9 Reaper.” It added that “the American MQ-9 Reaper drone is no longer the beast it once was.” It explained that “the MQ-9 has become increasingly vulnerable to ground-based counter-drone attacks, and many have been downed in Yemen.”