Yemen’s drone war: Rivals flex growing aerial muscle

The internationally recognised Yemeni government was quick to retaliate by employing remotely operated drones to attack Houthi fighters on the front lines. That development is significant in Yemen’s decadelong conflict because it highlights the growing use of drones on the battlefield. Government military units have repeatedly broadcast video footage showing drones tracking their targets, dropping bombs, killing fighters, destroying armoured vehicles, and damaging hideouts. “The government side is now acquiring a potentially important tactical capability of its own,” said Marius Bales, a doctoral researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies. “Reusable, remotely piloted drones may be particularly useful for the day-to-day battle along relatively static front lines, even if they cannot match the Houthis’ strategic strike range.” Rueben Dass, associate research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, told Al Jazeera that Yemeni government forces have publicised the use of drone-dropped munitions, which seem to be released from rotary-wing drones. “These drones may have been modified to carry improvised payloads targeting Houthi positions on the ground, similar to use by state and nonstate actors in several other conflict zones,” Dass said. In September 2014, the Iran-backed Houthis captured the capital, Sanaa, and, amid weak military resistance, pushed deeper into other parts of Yemen. The Houthis’ dramatic rise to power left the government divided and fragile, and due to the threat from the rebels, many political leaders, including then-President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, fled Yemen for safety abroad, notably to Saudi Arabia. For years, the Houthis were able to use drones as one of their most important weapons of asymmetric warfare. They were able to monitor their opponents and strike their gatherings, command centres, and facilities far from the lines of contact while government forces were mostly in a position of defence and interception. However, forces affiliated with the government have announced in recent days the use of drones against Houthi positions in Marib, al-Jawf, Taiz, Hajjah, al-Dhalea, and on other fronts.