During the ongoing conflict in Yemen, Houthi rebels have had the opportunity to test the latest military equipment developed by their Iranian patrons. Such technology and the accompanying tactics may be used in the future against the United States or Israel, Michael Segall writes:
Along with the use of drones in the aerial domain, the Houthis have been increasingly active in the maritime domain. . . . In addition to the occasional launch of Iranian-supplied anti-ship cruise missiles, the Houthis have begun to deploy, apparently with Iranian assistance, unmanned remote-controlled maritime craft. . . . Such vessels pose a new threat to civilian maritime traffic, open a new page in the clashes between Iran and Saudi Arabia in this sensitive arena, and could reach other Iranian-supported terror organizations in the world.
Iran is constantly developing its capabilities for asymmetrical maritime warfare. The aim is to contend with the United States’ superior maritime capabilities, including by attacking U.S. ships with swarms of manned and unmanned speedboats. [A recent] attack on a Saudi frigate offers a good example of Iran’s offensive unmanned-warship capability. The attack reflects the Iranian combat doctrine of using asymmetrical means against enemies that have a technological advantage. In that way, the Houthis have managed to . . . hold their ground against Saudi Arabia and the Arab-coalition forces for several years. . . .
Iran’s active involvement in the conflict in Yemen, including the various weapons it is introducing and testing in the arena, has implications for the Palestinian terror organizations’ future rounds of warfare against Israel, as well as Hizballah’s. Hamas and Hizballah are already deploying unmanned aerial and naval craft manufactured by Iran, or built with Iranian know-how, in the struggle against Israel. Unmanned warships like those the Houthis used in Yemen would pose a new kind of threat both to Israel’s navy and to its natural-gas rigs in the Mediterranean. The longer the conflict in Yemen continues, the more experience Iran and Hizballah will gain in using this weapon.
Read more on Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs: http://jcpa.org/article/yemen-has-become-irans-testing-ground-for-new-weapons/