Iran Supplies the Houthis With Hypersonic Missiles

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This news was initially reported by the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency, just weeks after Houthi rebels hinted at the “surprises” they have for the region to counter the US and its allies.

Supreme leader of the Houthis Abdul Malik al-Houthi announced last week that the rebels are planning to attack ships heading towards the Cape of Good Hope in Africa’s southern tip, which is different than their usual behavior of mainly targeting ships heading towards the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

If these claims are true and the Houthis indeed possess hypersonic missiles, it would certainly provide them the capability to carry out such attacks, at least in theory. The addition of a hypersonic missile to the Houthis’ arsenal could also pose a serious threat to the air defense systems of Israel, the US, and its allies.

According to Interesting Engineering, the provider of those alleged hypersonic missiles is thought to be Iran, who is widely believed to be the primary financial and material supporter of the Houthis. Iran, however, has consistently denied providing weapons to the Houthis, despite multiple arms shipments intended for the rebels in the Middle East waters being intercepted by the US and its allies.

The RIA reports that the group’s missile forces have successfully tested a missile capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 8 and run on solid fuel, adding that 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.”

Hypersonic weapons could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. If the supplied missiles are indeed of Iranian make, experts hypothesize that they will likely be the “Fattah” or “Conquerer” missile, Iran’s latest development.