The Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for launching a domestically-developed hypersonic missile against a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.
According to the Houthis, this was the first public revelation of their new “Hadim-2” hypersonic ballistic missile, which they say was used to target the Israeli-related cargo ship MSC Sarah V on Tuesday.
The rebels released a video purporting to show the launch of the yellow, solid-fuel missile from a mobile platform in an undisclosed desert location in Yemen.
The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Center reported that the Liberian-flagged MSC Sarah V was targeted by a missile in the Arabian Sea, but was not struck, with all crew members safe.
The Houthis have not immediately claimed responsibility for this specific attack, but their military spokesman brigadier general Yahya Saree later asserted they used a new ballistic missile.
This attack marks one of the farthest locations where the Houthis have targeted a vessel, occurring about 450 kilometres south-east of the Yemeni town of Nishtun, near the border with Oman.
Experts have questioned whether Iran, the Houthis' main backer, could have been involved in previous long-range attacks, though the rebels have made unverified claims of even greater distances.
The Houthis have escalated their campaign of drone and missile strikes against shipping in the strategically important Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, justifying the attacks as acts of solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
These assaults have significantly disrupted commercial traffic through a crucial global trade route.
In a separate development, the Houthis or their Iraqi allies, also claimed responsibility for a drone attack that struck the southern Israeli port city of Eilat.
This comes as tensions continue to simmer between the rebels and Yemen's exiled government, with the Houthis also accused of seizing commercial aircraft transporting Hajj pilgrims.
The Houthis' use of a purported hypersonic missile represents a significant escalation in their military capabilities, potentially posing new challenges for efforts to secure shipping in the region.
The group's expanding arsenal and willingness to strike distant targets underscore the complex and evolving nature of the conflict in Yemen, and confirms the threat the rebels have expressed of extending the range of their attacks beyond the Arabian Sea.
A worst-case scenario of such a development means vessels sailing around the Cape on Europe-Asia rotations could be targeted when transiting the Indian Ocean.
