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Major General Turki Al-Maliki the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen stated that an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter belonging to the Ministry of National Guard crashed inside Saudi territory in the Najran region. The incident resulted in the death of the two officers who formed the aircrew Al-Maliki said in a statement distributed by the Saudi Press Agency. The coalition spokesman explicitly attributed the crash to a technical malfunction and denied assertions that hostile fire had brought down the aircraft.
Al-Maliki separately confirmed that coalition air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait on the same day. The spokesman also reported the destruction of a drone targeting the Riyadh region in addition to another unmanned aircraft over the Eastern Province according to his updates on X. These interceptions occurred against the backdrop of continued cross-border tensions with the Iran-aligned group in Yemen.
The Ministry of National Guard to which the helicopter was assigned supports the Kingdom’s defence and interior ministries while protecting borders and vital installations Saudipedia has stated. The AH-6i model is a light reconnaissance and attack helicopter designed for intelligence gathering and surveillance missions. No identities of the deceased officers were released in the official announcement.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree had claimed the previous day that his forces downed a Saudi helicopter conducting hostile operations near the Najran border. Al-Maliki responded by posting images of Apache helicopters and dismissing the Houthi assertion that the aircraft was shot down. The coalition maintained that the loss stemmed entirely from mechanical failure rather than enemy action.
Najran lies along Saudi Arabia’s southern border with Yemen an area that has experienced repeated Houthi missile and drone launches in recent weeks Reuters reported. Coalition forces have intercepted the majority of such threats preventing significant damage or casualties in Saudi territory according to official tallies. The latest crash adds to operational risks faced by National Guard aviation units in the region.
Al-Maliki extended condolences to the families of the two officers in his public statement. The Ministry of National Guard has not issued additional comments beyond the coalition announcement as of Sunday. Standard military procedures are expected to examine the precise mechanical cause of the crash.
