Saudi Arabia appears to have used a Chinese-made ballistic missile in combat for the first time against the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen. Analysts say it would mark the first use of a ballistic missile by Riyadh in its long conflict with the Houthis, and read the move as an attempt to show the group that the kingdom holds weapons it has never disclosed.
Yemeni officials and weapons experts said missile debris found in Yemen appears to be from a Chinese Dongfeng-15A ballistic missile, according to The Wall Street Journal on the 16th, local time.
Video circulating on social media showed Yemeni residents gathered around the missile body. They used cellphone lights to illuminate the fins, the motor and a serial number, with the marking "DF-15A" printed in black letters on the side. The Journal could not immediately verify the footage, though regional analysts said it appeared to show actual missile debris.
Experts identified the weapon as a DF-15A because the shape of the fixed fins and the drive motor matched a missile shown in footage previously released by Chinese state broadcasters. The DF-15A is a Chinese-designed short-range, solid-fuel ballistic missile with a maximum range of about 965 kilometers.
It remains unclear what target in Yemen the missile struck. What was found was the missile body. The warhead separates in flight and travels farther toward its target.
Both a Houthi official and a Yemeni government official said Saudi Arabia launched the missile. Saudi officials did not deny firing it, but said the Houthis do not possess Dongfeng-15 missiles.
The apparent launch comes as widening conflict in the Middle East weighs on the Saudi economy. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed by the clash between the United States and Iran, the Houthis recently seized territory around the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key artery for crude oil shipments. Drone attacks have also halted operations at major Saudi pipelines.
If Saudi Arabia did fire the missile, it would be the first time the kingdom has used a ballistic missile in its long-running conflict with the Houthis. Analysts read it as an escalation in which Riyadh has brought out missile capabilities it had kept hidden in the face of Houthi attacks. Sacha Bruchmann, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said Saudi Arabia is showing a card it had not revealed before in order to restore a strategic balance.
Some analysts also see the launch as a warning aimed not only at the Houthis but at Iran. The DF-15A can reach Iran's southern coast.
The episode is also likely to reignite debate over Chinese missile sales in the Middle East. Confirmation that Saudi Arabia deployed a Chinese missile in combat would expose concrete evidence of arms dealings that Beijing has long denied. Washington has for years identified Saudi Arabia as a buyer of Chinese missiles, but individual transactions have never been officially confirmed.
China is the world's fifth-largest arms exporter, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, with Pakistan, Serbia and Thailand among its main customers. The United States remains the world's largest arms exporter, and Saudi Arabia accounts for 12% of U.S. arms exports.
