Yemeni Forces Destroy Houthi Drone Boat Outpost on the Red Sea Coast
A Tufan-1 unmanned attack craft was hit at a naval position sited for targets off the Saudi coast
National Resistance Forces fighting for Yemen's internationally recognised government have destroyed a Tufan-1 unmanned attack boat at a Houthi naval outpost on the Yemeni Red Sea coast. Video of the strike indicates that a second craft of the same type, and the outpost itself at the end of a causeway, had already been destroyed in an earlier attack.
The position of the outpost, in the north of the coastal strip the Houthis hold, points to the craft being intended for targets to the north, off the Saudi coast.
The Tufan-1 is a radio-controlled attack boat with a claimed 150-kilogram warhead and a closing speed of 35 knots. Houthi footage shows a two-man crew steering the craft towards its target, abandoning it once the final course is set and being picked up by an accompanying boat.
The type has a record against merchant shipping. A Tufan-1 was used on 23 June 2024 against the Greek-owned bulk carrier Transworld Navigator, which survived a large explosion and remains in service under the Bahamas flag as Lonnie. Eleven days earlier, on 12 June 2024, the same type was used against the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Tutor, which eventually sank with the loss of one Filipino crew member.
The Houthis have built radio-controlled attack craft for some years. One was used in January 2017 against the Royal Saudi Naval Force frigate Al Madinah, killing two Saudi sailors.
In a separate action earlier in the week, naval units of the National Resistance Forces intercepted a small dhow south of the Hanish Islands, which had sailed north through the Bab el Mandeb on 24 August. The dhow was carrying a large quantity of Chinese and Iranian electrical components, enough for the manufacture of hundreds of drones, together with radio control equipment and documentation linking the consignment to the IRGC.
