Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels are seeking to manufacture advanced ballistic missiles using components sourced from China, potentially giving the group the ability to strike targets across Saudi Arabia and Israel, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal.
uncertain
rebels → back → Journal
A separate investigation by Bloomberg has documented a wider supply network bringing missile parts, drone components and industrial machinery into Yemen.
asserted
investigation → document → Yemen
The findings point to the Houthis’ growing ambition to manufacture more of their own weapons instead of relying primarily on Iran for finished systems.
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findings → point → systems
However, the extent of their ability to produce advanced missiles independently remains uncertain.
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extent → produce → missiles
Chinese shipments reveal missile-building ambitions
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shipments → reveal → ambitions
The WSJ report, based on findings from Conflict Armament Research (CAR), a group that traces weapons and their supply chains in conflict zones, said Yemeni authorities intercepted two shipments last year containing components needed to build a missile modelled on Iran’s Kheibar Shekan precision-guided ballistic missile.
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authorities → base → missile
The cargo included custom-made metal parts for missile motors and airframes, stabilising fins and solid-propellant rocket motor components.
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cargo → include → motors
Investigators also identified material used to make heat shields that protect missiles during atmospheric flight.
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that → identify → flight
Some of the components were specifically designed for missile production, while others had potential civilian applications.
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others → design → applications
The Kheibar Shekan, first revealed by Iran in 2022, has a reported range of around 2,000km, potentially placing all of Saudi Arabia and Israel within reach.
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Shekan → reveal → reach
Its manoeuvrability is also intended to make interception by air-defence systems more difficult.
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interception → intend → systems
Fabian Hinz, a senior analyst at CAR, told WSJ that the arrival of Chinese components suggested the Houthis were either already manufacturing missiles or attempting to do so.
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Houthis → tell → missiles
He cautioned that their heavily concealed weapons facilities made it difficult to establish how far production had progressed.
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production → caution → ?
A September 23 investigation by Bloomberg examined four shipping containers seized at Yemen’s southern port of Aden.
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investigation → examine → Aden
The cargo had been shipped from China and was bound for Hodeidah, a Red Sea port controlled by the Houthis.
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cargo → ship → Houthis
Weapons experts found suspected missile parts, drone components, control systems, launch equipment, computer-controlled machine tools, engines and tunnelling equipment.
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experts → find → parts
The material included rear fins resembling components used in Iranian ballistic missiles and phenolic resin, which can be used to manufacture heat-resistant missile shields.
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which → include → shields
Fawaz Al Bsesi, director general of Aden’s Land, Sea and Air Ports Department, told Bloomberg that the components appeared to have been distributed across four containers to make them harder to detect.
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them → tell → containers
In a note to his superiors, he wrote that he had come across what appeared to be a complete missile structure spread across three containers.
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what → write → containers
The investigation also identified a broader commercial network connecting Chinese exporters with cargo bound for Houthi-controlled territory.
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investigation → identify → territory
Shipping records reviewed by Bloomberg showed dozens of containers moving under 41 bills of lading.
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dozens → review → lading
In 25 cases, the Yemeni importer named in the shipping documents was changed while the cargo was in transit.
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cargo → name → transit
Aden authorities said the changes were intended to conceal the Houthi-linked companies behind the shipments.
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changes → say → shipments
Some of the seized equipment could have legitimate civilian uses.
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Some → seize → uses
But weapons experts said the combination of components pointed to a supply chain capable of supporting domestic missile and drone production.
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combination → say → production
From Iranian weapons to domestic production
The Houthis have expanded their arsenal over years of conflict with support from Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
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Houthis → expand → Iran
Between 2015 and 2019, they relied heavily on importing Iranian missiles in disassembled form and reassembling them.
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they → rely → them
From 2020 to 2023, they increasingly imported components to assemble or upgrade weapons, including systems operated under names such as Burkan and Quds.
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they → import → Burkan
Analysts say the group is now diversifying its procurement networks and developing greater domestic manufacturing capacity.
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group → say → capacity
Mohammed Albasha, founder of the US-based security advisory firm Basha Report, told The Wall Street Journal that the Houthis had expanded their supply chains, accumulated operational experience and incorporated artificial intelligence into software for their missiles and drones.
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Houthis → base → missiles
Henry Thompson, a former expert on the UN panel monitoring sanctions on Yemen, said there was evidence that the Houthis had been importing components for solid-fuel ballistic missiles from China for at least two years.
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Houthis → monitor → years
Medium-range ballistic missiles, he warned, could allow the group to strike deeper into Saudi Arabia with larger payloads than cruise missiles and drones.
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group → warn → missiles
China has said it complies with the UN arms embargo on the Houthis and maintains controls on military exports and dual-use goods.
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it → say → exports
The reports, however, raise questions about how specialised components and industrial equipment are reaching the group through commercial supply chains.
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components → raise → chains
The investigations suggest that the Houthis are seeking the components, machinery and procurement networks needed to build a more self-sufficient weapons programme inside Yemen.
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Houthis → suggest → Yemen
The Aporia
