A United Arab Emirates Air Force F-16E Desert Falcon shot down an Iranian Shahed-136 attack drone over Al Mamzar Beach on Monday, with beachgoers capturing rare footage of the low-altitude intercept just kilometers from Dubai International Airport. The video, which spread rapidly on social media, offers one of the clearest civilian recordings of an air-to-air engagement since Iran began striking Gulf states on February 28.
Insane video of Emirate F-16 shooting down an Iranian Shahed 136 drone over Al Mamzar Beach UAE. pic.twitter.com/bVck8LpJnt
— WarMonitor🇺🇦🇬🇧 (@WarMonitor3) March 9, 2026
The footage shows the delta-wing drone flying low over the waterfront before the F-16E enters the frame and fires what appears to be an AIM-9X Sidewinder, a heat-seeking air-to-air missile designed for close-range engagements. The drone is destroyed moments after impact.
The intercept came during a sustained Iranian aerial campaign against the UAE. Since the strikes began, the UAE Ministry of Defence has tracked 253 ballistic missiles targeting the country, destroying 233. Air defenses have engaged 1,440 Iranian drones, intercepting 1,359. The attacks have killed four foreign nationals from Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh and injured 117 others.
UAE air defences intercept 12 ballistic missiles, 17 UAVs.
UAE air defences on Monday detected 15 ballistic missiles, of which 12 were destroyed, while 3 missiles fell into the sea. A total of 18 UAVs were also detected, with 17 intercepted, while 1 fell within the country’s… pic.twitter.com/7l2tjyclK5
— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 9, 2026
The UAE Air Force has deployed F-16E/F Block 60 Desert Falcons and Mirage 2000-9 fighters alongside ground-based air defense systems to counter the barrage. Ministry footage released earlier this month showed targeting pod recordings of fighter-launched missiles destroying Shahed drones over desert and coastal areas, demonstrating the layered defensive approach Emirati forces have adopted.
The Shahed-136 is a one-way attack drone featuring a cropped delta-wing design. Iran produces the platform domestically and has exported it to Russia, where it operates under the designation Geran-2.
