Iranian arms and foreign components sustain Houthi military buildup, CAR report says

A new CAR report finds that Iranian support and foreign-made components continue to sustain Houthi missile, drone and maritime weapons programs.

The Houthis pose a threat to the region, and they have demonstrated their capabilities through their recent offensive along the Red Sea. A new report by Conflict Armament Research examines the sources of their weapons and highlights their continued close ties to Iran.

Rob Hunter-Perkins, the Head of Research at Conflict Armament Research, said in a recent report from the group that “external support remains a key factor in the Houthis ’ ability to sustain operations, and the evidence suggests that there is a high degree of planning and coordination on these supplies.”

Hunter-Perkins added that “in some cases, the Houthis are even receiving missiles in ready-made kits with assembly instructions.

Conflict Armament Research has documented these assembly labels, which indicate which component belongs to what missile system, and all of these labels use Iranian missile designations, rather than the terms that the Houthis themselves use.”

CAR has produced important reports over the past decade, documenting the Houthis' various weapons programs and also the origins of their drone and missile program.

CAR tracks Houthi weapons buildup across Yemen

Conflict Armament Research said that it “has worked with partner authorities in Yemen and the wider Gulf region to document weapons, ammunition, drones, and improvised explosive devices developed or acquired by the Houthis since 2015, with our most recent deployment to the country in September 2026.”

Fabian Hinz, a Senior Analyst at CAR noted that “Iranian support has been crucial to the buildup of Houthi military capabilities. Iran has managed to secure a seemingly steady flow of technology to the Houthis and has proven willing to share even some of its most advanced capabilities, such as the Kheybarshekan medium-range ballistic missile, with the group.”

CAR put out its most recent report in the wake of the new advances of the Houthis. Overall, the trends among the Houthis remain the same as in the past. They base their weapons on Iranian designs. They have anti-ship, surface-to-air, and ballistic missiles. They recently claimed to shoot down an F-15. They have also attacked various cities in Saudi Arabia.

“While much attention has focused on the Houthis’ buildup of longer-range strike capabilities, the group has also amassed a wide variety of systems aimed at strengthening its warfighting capabilities within Yemen, including small UAVs such as loitering munitions and first-person view (FPV)s, artillery rockets, close-range ballistic missiles, and anti-tank guided missiles,” CAR notes.

“Crucially, this includes evidence of Houthi experimentation with technology that Conflict Armament Research has not documented in the possession of any armed group elsewhere in the world, such as navigation modules and propellers that may be used in loitering torpedoes, which would greatly extend the Houthis’ ability to attack maritime targets.”

Houthi coastal advances could strengthen attacks on shipping

The new report argues that the Houthis capture of the Red Sea coast “would significantly improve their maritime posture. Using these areas as launch sites for short-range reconnaissance and strike assets would enable much closer surveillance of maritime traffic through the strait and more effective targeting of vessels attempting to transit it.”

Iran has shipped complete weapons in the past. In addition, it helped enable a local manufacturing base. With the US blockade, the Houthis will likely have a harder time acquiring weapons. “There is also evidence to suggest that the Houthis are now using the technological foundation provided by Iran to pursue their own research and development efforts, such as using hydrogen power to increase the range of its uncrewed systems,” CAR noted.

Hunter-Perkins noted, in the recent report, that “Conflict Armament Research has analyzed over 800 weapon components from Yemen in the past year, and the vast majority found in Iranian missiles and drones in Yemen are foreign.” That means Iran also isn’t building most of these items at home, but is instead finding a way to get components from other countries. In fact, the CAR report noted the components come from “16 countries and territories, and include commercially available components.

As much as the Houthis depend on external supply of Iranian-origin weapons, Iran itself clearly depends on critical foreign technology to sustain its production of missiles and drones.”