What arsenal do the Houthis have?

After the US and UK launched military strikes against the Houthi rebels, the Iran-backed militia has vowed to hit back. The US and UK said the strikes were in response to the Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and the objective was to degrade the Houthi military. A US official said the strikes were executed via aircraft, ship and submarine. But what do we know about the strikes? And what about the Houthi’s arsenal? Let’s take a closer look: What do we know about the strikes? The US and British forces struck 60 targets at 16 Houthi locations. As per The Guardian “command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defence radar systems” were targeted. The Houthis claimed they had suffered 72 strikes.

The US said it used over 100 precision-guided munitions including Tomahawk land-to-air missiles.

Witnesses told Reuters that the raids on Thursday targeted a military base adjacent to Sanaa airport, a military site near Taiz airport, a Houthi naval base in Hodeidah and military sites in Hajjah governorate. The UK said it hit Bani – a location from where reconnaissance and attack drones were sent up and the Abs airfield. Sunak said the UK acted in ‘self-defence’ after their ships were targeted. “We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of Houthi attacks… that’s putting innocent lives at risk. It’s disrupting the global economy, and it’s also destabilising the region,” Sunak was quoted as saying by the BBC. “And it’s why I made the decision with allies to take what I believe to be necessary, proportionate and targeted action against military targets, to degrade and disrupt Houthi capability.” [caption id=“attachment_13275332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] UK PM Rishi Sunak. AFP.[/caption] “It’s clear that this type of behaviour can’t be met without a response, we need to send a strong signal that this breach of international law is wrong,” he added. The outlet quoted armed forces minister as saying no further air strikes were “immediately planned”. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has also supported the strikes. “Clearly the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have to be dealt with,” Starmier told BBC Radio 5 Live. Ex-British Army chief Lord Dannatt said the US and UK have a duty to protect vessels in the Red Sea and international commerce. “One has to hope that this is calculated measured intelligence-led activity, which will have an effect quite quickly and restore international shipping to be able to use the Red Sea as opposed to going around the very expensive Cape of Good Hope route.” What about the Houthi arsenal? The rebels have quite a stockpile of weapons. The group has focused on building up their capabilities since they took Yemen’s capital of Sanaa in 2014. Experts say the Houthis have ballistic and cruise missiles and drones – much of it made with help from Iran.

The Houthi’s ballistic Typhoon missile is a repurposed version of Iran’s Qadr missile.

Fabian Hinz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said it has a range of 1,600 to 1,900 kilometres “It is very inaccurate, at least in the version they’ve shown us, but it should be able to reach Israel,” Hinz  said. In 2016, Iran was able to hit targets at a distance of 1,400 kilometres with the Qadr missile. The Houthis revealed their weapons just weeks before 7 October attack, said Mohammed Albasha, senior Middle East analyst for the US-based Navanti Group. Hinz added that the Houthis also possess Iran’s Quds cruise missile – some of which can reach Israel. [caption id=“attachment_13607082” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Iran-backed militia threatened both countries with dire consequences just hours after the US and British armies in Yemen started airstrikes in Houthi-controlled portions of the country in an attempt to thwart attacks on ships in the Red Sea Image Courtesy AP[/caption] The Houthis in 2022 claimed to have struck oil facilities in Abu Dhabi using these weapons. The guided missiles made a journey of more than 1,126 kilometres from northern Yemen. The Houthis also used the Quds 2 missile in 2020 to strike facilities in Saudi Arabia. While Saudi Arabia and the United States have claimed Iran giving the Houthis weapons, Iran continues to deny this accusation. The Houthis claim to make their own drones. However, experts say these comprise electrical components smuggled from Iran. The Houthis also have the Iranian Shahed-136 drones. Russia is currently using these drones – which have a range of 2,000 kilometres – in the Ukraine war. The Houthis also have the Samad-3 drone. “We don’t know the exact range, but it should be about 1,600 kilometres,” Hinz added. These drones have been used to target the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The Samad-3 can be fitted with 18 kilogrammes of explosives, according to rebel media sources and analysts. The Houthis’ drones use GPS guidance and “fly autonomously along pre-programmed waypoints” towards their targets, experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a 2020 report. The Houthis say their attacks are in support of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza. Israel has launched a military assault that has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza after Hamas’ attack on Israel. The Houthi have attacked 27 ships to date, disrupting international commerce on the key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15 per cent of the world’s shipping traffic. The US military said on Thursday that the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, the 27th attack by the group since 19 November. The overnight strikes in Yemen came just days after the Houthis largest attack to date on 9 January in the Red Sea, which forced the US and British naval forces to shoot down 21 Houthi drones and missiles fired towards the southern Red Sea. The U.S. military described it as a complex attack. Biden, in his statement, said the Houthis directly targeted American ships. In December, more than 20 countries agreed to participate in a US-led coalition, known as Operation Prosperity Guardian, safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea. However, the U.S. and British strikes are taking place outside that defensive coalition. Biden said Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands supported the operation. “The response of the international community to these reckless attacks has been united and resolute,” Biden said in a statement. With inputs from agencies