Illustrative image, source: the Houthis media wing
The Yemeni Air Force [loyal to the Houthis] announced on January 18 that it had targeted a meeting of senior commanders of the Saudi-led coalition in a military camp in the northern province of al-Jawf with unnamed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
“The attack was carried out on the basis of intelligence information and the careful monitoring of the camp and the movements of the leaders of the invaders and mercenaries,” a source in the Yemeni Air Force told the al-Masirah TV.
Contrary to the Yemeni Air Force claims, the attack didn’t go so well. The Saudi-backed wing of the Yemeni military said that its units managed to shot down two out of three UAVs, which were participating in the attack, over the province of Ma’rib, south of al-Jawf.
The newly-revealed Qasef-2k UAV was likely used in this attack. The UAV, which is a slightly upgraded copy of the older Qasef-1, is armed with a heavy high-explosive fragmentation (HE-frag) warhead that explodes 10 to 20 meters over the target.
Last week, a spokesman of the Houthis revealed that the Yemeni Air Force is now producing one Qasef-2k UAV every day. This explains the recent surge in UAV attacks.
Facing this new challenge, the Saudi-led coalition will likely step up its aerial operations in northern and central Yemen. A tactic that has failed before.