Illustrative image.
Footage circulating online on September 14 appears to show debris from a Chinese DF-15A short-range ballistic missile in Yemen’s Marib province, prompting claims that the Houthis (Ansar Allah) have used the weapon in the country’s latest fighting.
The video, filmed in the Raghwan area, shows men examining cylindrical wreckage under flashlight beams. A section of the debris appears to bear the marking “DF-15A” alongside other alphanumeric codes. The footage does not establish when the missile was launched, who fired it or how the wreckage reached the area.
The DF-15A is a Chinese solid-fueled, road-mobile ballistic missile with an estimated range of 600 to 900 kilometers. It can carry a conventional warhead weighing roughly 500 to 750 kilograms and is about 9 to 10 meters long. The missile uses an inertial guidance system.
There is no publicly confirmed evidence that the Houthis or Iran operate the DF-15A. The Houthis’ documented ballistic missile arsenal has largely consisted of Iranian-derived or -supplied systems, including Scud-based Burkan missiles, Fateh-110 derivatives and longer-range weapons resembling Iran’s Qiam, Ghadr and Kheibar Shekan.
At the same time, there is no public confirmation that Saudi Arabia operates the DF-15A. Riyadh has nevertheless maintained a long-standing ballistic missile relationship with China, acquiring DF-3 missiles in the 1980s and later being reported to have obtained DF-21 systems.
U.S. intelligence has also described Chinese assistance to Saudi Arabia in developing domestic production of solid-fuel ballistic missiles.
The footage emerged amid renewed fighting across Yemen, where Houthi forces have made gains along the western coast while Saudi-backed government forces have sought to counter the advance.
The origin of the missile debris remains unclear, leaving open several possibilities over how a weapon bearing the DF-15A designation came to be in Raghwan. Despite the claims that the missile was launched by the Houthis, Saudi Arabia remains a more realistic suspect based on the kingdom’s well-documented cooperation with China in that field.
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