Report: Houthis Building Iran-Style Missile With Chinese Parts

The Houthis are working to build their own ballistic missile, modeled on Iran's Kheibar Shekan, with parts brought in from Chinese companies. That is the finding of a Conflict Armament Research report obtained by The Wall Street Journal, which reported it on the 13th, according to SBS. The Times of Israel reports the missile could target Israel and Saudi Arabia.

SBS reports the Houthi-made missile would have a maximum range of approximately 2,000 kilometers, enough to put all of Saudi Arabia and Israel within reach. The Kheibar Shekan is one of Iran's most powerful missiles. Iran first showed it in 2022, and SBS reports it has been used in the ongoing conflict to strike U.S. military bases in the Middle East. Its nose cone separates in the final phase and comes in at Mach 8, with small thrusters that let it change direction to slip past air defenses.

The Houthis imported custom metal parts for the missile, including engine parts, airframe components, control fins and solid-propellant rocket motor parts, SBS reports. The research was based on information provided in July of this year, after the Yemeni government seized two shipments of missile equipment hidden inside general cargo last year. Fabian Hinz, a senior analyst at Conflict Armament Research, said the Chinese parts mean the Houthis are either already producing missiles themselves or are trying to, though their heavily camouflaged facilities make the true scale unclear.

The Journal reported that Chinese companies have been the largest source of intercepted goods headed to the Houthis, even though the group is under U.S. sanctions, according to SBS. Henry Thompson, a former member of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen, told the Journal there is evidence the Houthis have been importing parts for solid-fuel ballistic missiles from China for at least two years. He warned that medium-range missiles with much larger warheads could strike deep into Saudi Arabia.

Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported the claims on 'The Story' and looked at the threat the Iran-backed Houthis' program poses to Saudi Arabia and to stability across the Middle East. SBS reports the Houthis once simply reassembled finished missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, and analyst Mohammed Al-Basha told the Journal the group has grown able to produce weapons on its own. What it means: a terror army that learns to build its own missiles is harder to starve of weapons, and Israel is within its reach.