Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they have a new hypersonic missile in their arsenal, which could raise the stakes in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and adjacent waterways amid Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, The Globe and Mail reports.
The Houthis have for weeks been hinting at “surprises” they are planning in naval battles to counter the US and its allies, who have so far been able to shoot down any missile or bomb-laden drone that approached their warships in Middle Eastern waters.
Meanwhile, Iranian and US representatives held indirect talks in Oman, the first in months amid their long-running tensions over Tehran’s fast-developing nuclear programme and attacks by its supporters.
Iran, the main patron of the Houthis, claims to have a hypersonic missile and has widely armed the rebels with the missiles they now use. Adding a hypersonic missile to their arsenal could pose a greater challenge to the air defence systems used by America and its allies, including Israel. A military official close to the Houthis said:
“The group’s missile forces have successfully tested a missile that is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 8 and runs on solid fuel. The Houthis intend to begin manufacturing it for use during attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel.”
Mach 8 is eight times the speed of sound. Hypersonic weapons travelling at speeds greater than Mach 5 can pose serious problems for missile defence systems because of their speed and manoeuvrability.
The danger of a hypersonic missile depends on how manoeuvrable it is. Ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory on which missile defence systems, such as the US Patriot, can anticipate their path and intercept them. The more irregular the trajectory of a missile, such as a hypersonic missile that can change direction, the more difficult it is to intercept.
China, like America, is believed to be seeking to develop such weapons. Russia claims it has already used it on the battlefield in Ukraine. However, speed and manoeuvrability are no guarantee that the missile will successfully hit its target. In May, the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile using a Patriot battery.
In Yemen, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the secretive supreme leader of the Houthi rebels, boasted in late February of his weapons successes. He warned at the time:
“We have surprises that the enemies do not expect at all.”
A week ago, he similarly warned:
“What is coming is greater. The enemy … will see the level of achievements of strategic importance that place our country in its capabilities among the limited and numbered countries in this world.”
After seizing the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014, the Houthis looted government arsenals containing Soviet Scud missiles and other weapons.
When a Saudi-led coalition entered the Yemen conflict in 2015, the Houthi arsenal was increasingly targeted. Soon – despite Yemen’s lack of its own missile infrastructure – newer missiles fell into the rebels’ hands.
Iran has long denied arming the Houthis, probably because of a longstanding UN arms embargo on the rebels. However, the US and its allies have seized several shipments of weapons destined for the rebels in Middle Eastern waters. Arms experts have also linked Houthi weapons seized on the battlefield to Iran.
Iran also claims to have hypersonic weapons. In June, Iran unveiled its Fattah missile, or “Conqueror” in Farsi, which it says is hypersonic. Another missile is in development.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment Thursday, nor did the Bahrain-based US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which patrols waterways in the Middle East.
The Israeli military, which has also come under Houthi fire since the war with Hamas began on 7 October when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostages, declined to comment.
Also on Thursday, The Financial Times reported that the U.S. and Iran held indirect talks in Oman in January “to end attacks on ships in the Red Sea.” The last known round of such talks took place in May last year.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency indirectly acknowledged the talks, but insisted they were “limited to talks on lifting anti-Iran sanctions.” The US State Department did not confirm the talks or comment.
The Houthis have been attacking the ships since November, saying they want to force Israel to end the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians in the besieged strip.
The attacks have raised the profile of the Houthis, whose Zaydi people ruled a 1,000-year-old kingdom in Yemen until 1962. The addition of the new weapons raises that credibility and puts further pressure on Israel after a ceasefire agreement in Gaza was not reached before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Earlier in March, a Houthi missile struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three crew members and forcing survivors to abandon ship. This marked the first deadly Houthi attack on maritime vessels.
Other recent Houthi actions include last month’s attack on the Rubymar fertiliser cargo ship, which sank after drifting for days, and the shooting down of a US drone worth tens of millions of dollars.
A new attack on Thursday in the Gulf of Aden targeted a vessel believed to be Houthi, but it passed over and caused no damage, the United Kingdom’s British military’s Maritime Trade Operations Centre said.
Fabian Hinz, a missile expert and fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said he would not be surprised if Iran gave the Houthis new hypersonic weapons. The question, however, is how manoeuvrable such weapons would be at hypersonic speeds and whether they could hit moving targets such as ships in the Red Sea. He said:
“I wouldn’t exclude the possibility that the Houthis have some system that has some maneuvering capability to some extent. It is also possible for the Iranians to transfer new stuff for the Houthis to test it.”
