Yemen’s Houthis claim to have used a domestically made HYPERSONIC MISSILE against an Israeli ship

07/02/2024 / By Arsenio Toledo

The Houthi movement of northern Yemen claims to have used a domestically made hypersonic missile for the first time against an Israeli vessel traveling through the Arabian Sea.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces reveal for the first time the identity of the missile that targeted the Israeli ship (MSC Sarah V) in the Arabian Sea,” Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree wrote on X in Arabic. “It is a locally made hypersonic missile that possesses advanced technology, is accurate in hitting and reaches long ranges. Scenes of the launch, along with the rest of the details, will be distributed via the military media later, God willing.” (Related: Yemeni military reiterates warning to Israeli-linked ships not to pass through the Red Sea after claiming to have sunk 2 ships that violated the blockade.)

Reports indicate that the hypersonic missile, dubbed the “Palestine,” targeted the Liberian-flagged and Greek-managed container ship MSC Sarah V. The assault also targeted the MSC Sarah V farther away than nearly all of the previous assaults the Houthis have launched against ships.

Tracking data shows that the MSC Sarah V was bound for Abu Dhabi and had entered the Persian Gulf the next evening, indicating that the attack did not cripple the container ship. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations confirmed the attack, noting that the MSC Sarah V’s crew reported an explosion near the ship’s hull but that the incident caused no injuries.

Earlier, the Houthis released footage of the Palestine being launched at the Israeli Red Sea port city of Eilat. Israeli officials confirmed that a hypersonic missile had targeted the city, but claimed that the missile did not cause any damage or injuries.

Analysts note that the Palestine may indeed be locally made, but its design seems to be heavily influenced by similar Iranian hypersonic missiles.

Houthi hypersonic missile likely designed in Iran

The launch of the Palestine occurred just one day before the Houthis released a video of the launch of another domestically manufactured hypersonic missile, known as the “Hatem-2” or “Hadim-2.”

The text on the video claims the Hatem-2 is a solid-fuel missile with an intelligent control system and that the Houthis have already stockpiled multiple generations of the missile, with each successive generation being more advanced and able to reach targets farther away from Houthi-controlled territory in northern Yemen.

Saree noted in a statement that the missile was developed by the Yemeni Military Industrialization Corporation. It is unclear how the Houthis were able to develop the capability to manufacture such advanced military technologies as hypersonic missiles, which are classified as missiles that can travel at speeds of Mach 5 or faster, preventing standard anti-missile defense systems from easily intercepting them.

However, it should be noted that, in the past, the Houthis have been heavily reliant on weapons and military tech from Iran, which Tehran has allegedly been supplying the Houthis in contravention of a United Nations-sponsored arms embargo.

Analysis of the video shared by the Houthis even indicates that the Hatem-2 resembles the Fattah-1, an Iranian hypersonic missile that Tehran claims can travel at an effective speed of up to Mach 13, or 13 times the speed of sound.

Markus Schiller, director of ST Analytics, a German consulting firm that specializes in missile and space technology research, believes the missile was designed in Iran.

“Definitely something from the Iranian Fattah family of missiles, which date back to the 1990s and were continuously advanced since then,” said Schiller, further noting that Tehran has recently been touting the latest versions of the Fattah missiles as hypersonic, and that the Houthis are unlikely to have developed that technology on their own.

“Hypersonic in this case is clearly a buzzword, trying to create hype,” added Schiller, who does not believe that either the Hatem-2 or the Palestine actually are hypersonic missiles.

Learn more about the conflict in Israel and the Middle East at IsraelCollapse.com.

Watch this Hindustan Times report from March discussing how the Houthis were testing their hypersonic missiles on Israeli-affiliated ships passing through the Red Sea.

This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.