Yemen’s Houthis, the armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for followers of God), are striking deep into Saudi Arabia with waves of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been repeatedly targeted by the Houthis since the start of their new military campaign against the kingdom in September.
An attack on the airport on Saturday left 12 dead and 309 injured, the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority was forced to suspend operations and divert all flights, while the United States and the United Kingdom issued new travel warnings for their citizens.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for two other attacks on the air hub earlier this week and warned people on Sunday to avoid Saudi airports.
Houthi weapons
Saudi Arabia has one of the best-equipped armies in the world, equipped with advanced and multi-layered air defense systems.
Saudi military jets struck Houthi positions across Yemen last week, seeking to roll back recent advances by the Iran-backed group against the Yemeni government army, which Riyadh supports.
The Houthis’ arsenal has come a long way since the group seized control of Sanaa from the government in September 2014.
Their drones and missiles have reached Israel and, as their precision has shown, can hit particular targets such as Saudi airports and oil installations.
Here’s what we know about the Houthis’ weaponry, how their tactics have changed, and why Saudi air defenses are struggling to keep up.
What is the status of the Houthis’ arsenal?
The exact type of weapon used to attack Riyadh airport is unknown, but the Houthis have fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia since the 2015 intervention. The Iran-backed group has also targeted Israel and vessels allegedly linked to Israel since the Gaza genocide began in October 2023.
The group used its weapons in concert, mixing drones and missiles of varying speeds to confuse air defenses. The same mix shaped Yemen’s ground war, with the Houthis pounding government positions for weeks before seizing the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive last month.
Among the group’s most advanced options are medium-range ballistic missiles such as the Palestine-2, a two-stage solid-fuel missile believed to have a range of 2,000 km and hypersonic capabilities. Another is the Toufan, which appears to be an Iranian missile renamed Ghadr, with an estimated range of 1,350 to 1,950 km.
The range of these missiles – some carrying fragmentation warheads – allowed the Houthis to penetrate Israel’s air defense network, some 2,000 km from Yemen.
The Houthis also possess a number of short-range missiles, such as their Burkan and Badr series. They are also believed to be of Iranian origin and were used in cross-border strikes in Saudi Arabia.
According to Nawaf Obaid, a senior research fellow at Kings College’s war studies department, the Houthis’ missile arsenal is primarily derived from Iranian weaponry, with some Chinese technological influences.
“The Houthis have demonstrated little evidence of significant indigenous technological innovation,” he said. “Their domestic capabilities are largely limited to the production of certain low-end missiles and drones. »
Last month, Yemen’s government forces claimed that the Houthis had received help from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to develop a new capability: lurking cruise missiles.
Why are Saudi defenses struggling to keep up?
Saudi authorities say their forces have shot down a number of projectiles over the past week, including two ballistic missiles targeting the capital on Thursday. But they failed to intercept the projectile which hit Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday.
Nawaf Obaid told Al Jazeera that occasional penetration by Saudi air defenses was to be expected, given the size of the kingdom and its border with Yemen.
“Even if you have a multi-tiered air defense system, only one will always succeed,” he said, noting that dozens of Houthi attempts are thwarted for every successful attack.
Security and defense policy analyst Wolfgang Pusztai told Al Jazeera that the main objective of Saudi Arabia’s ballistic missile defense system was to counter Iranian threats.
However, as Houthi attacks increase, he believes it is likely that the Saudis will redirect some of those defenses toward Yemen.
There is also the question of interceptor stocks. Saudi Arabia – along with many of America’s regional and global allies – is saddled with limited stockpiles of Patriot and THAAD munitions. These sums were quickly spent by the United States and its allies during the first months of the war against Iran.
Last month, Riyadh reportedly contacted a number of friendly countries to deploy air defense or other support assets to help it defend against Houthi attacks.
Boundaries
However, the Houthis are also fighting under serious constraints. The group is subject to a UN arms embargo, a years-long Saudi blockade and is fighting on multiple fronts across Yemen.
“Militarily, the Saudi-led coalition has the upper hand, but the Houthis can still make headlines with occasional strikes against Saudi Arabia,” Obaid said.
“As the world’s largest crude oil exporter and G20 economy, Saudi Arabia bears global responsibilities that make such attacks disproportionately visible. »
The exact size of the Houthis’ missile arsenal is unknown, calling into question the group’s ability to sustain attacks against Saudi Arabia, while simultaneously waging a fierce ground war where missiles and drones have been used by the Iran-backed group.
Obaid said Saudi Arabia’s air campaign in Yemen has focused heavily on targeting the group’s missile depots, underground facilities and drone production facilities. The group is “inflicting enormous damage” on the Houthis’ military capabilities, he added.
Pusztai told Al Jazeera that the Houthis likely only had a limited number of short-range ballistic missiles.
This would mean they would be unable to launch saturation attacks, where multiple missiles and drones are fired at targets, such as in Saudi Arabia.
Instead, they could focus on aiming single missiles at less defended civilian targets “in order to maximize the strategic impact of these attacks, in this case to disrupt civilian air traffic.”
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