Yemen's Houthis Seek Advanced Ballistic Missile Capabilities With Chinese Components

The Houthi movement in Yemen is reportedly attempting to manufacture advanced ballistic missiles using components supplied by China, according to a Wednesday report in The Wall Street Journal. A report by Conflict Armament Research (CAR), an organization that monitors weapons in conflict zones, indicates the Houthis imported various components from a Chinese supplier to produce a version of Iran's Khaybar Shekan cruise missile. This missile is expected to have a range of approximately 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers), potentially placing all of Saudi Arabia and Israel within its strike capability. CAR's findings are based on information gathered from Yemeni authorities in July, following the interception of two shipments of missile equipment disguised as other goods by officials last year. "When there is an import of this kind, there is a possibility that they are actually manufacturing the missiles, or that they are trying but it is not actually succeeding," stated Fabian Hinz, a senior analyst at CAR. He noted that Houthi weapons facilities are well-concealed, making it unclear at what stage their missile manufacturing process currently stands. Chinese companies are identified as the primary source of smuggled goods reaching the Houthis, according to UN reports and arms expert data. Many suppliers of drone parts to the Houthis, who are under U.S. sanctions, operate from China. Separately, it was reported this week that Anthropic acknowledged the Houthis recently used its AI tool, Claude, to design warheads. The company described how an armed cell was identified operating three programs, all utilizing Claude, which is capable of handling a wide range of conversational and text-based learning scenarios.