Iranian design, Chinese components—Israel-Saudi concern over Houthi missiles

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen are trying to build advanced medium-range ballistic missiles using components made in China. If the weapon is built on the model of Iran’s precision-guided Kheibar Shekan missile, the group may gain the capability to attack various places in the Middle East including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The US media Wall Street Journal has informed that this information has emerged in a report of Conflict Armament Research (CAR), an organisation that researches weapons used in conflict zones.

According to the report, the Houthis are planning to build a version of the Kheibar Shekan missile using various components made in China. It has been mentioned in the report that the range of the planned missile may be more than about 3,500 kilometres or 1,900 miles.

The own range of the Kheibar Shekan missile made by Iran is about 1,450 kilometres or 900 miles. Through this it is possible to strike various countries of the Gulf region and Israel. The meaning of the name of the missile is ‘Destroyer of Kheibar’. It has been named after a Jewish fort that came under the control of Muslim forces in the early period of Islam.

According to the information of The Times of Israel, the capability of rapid deployment and launch is one of the important features of the Kheibar Shekan missile. Although the air forces of Israel and the United States tried to identify and destroy the missile launch sites of Iran during the war, the capability of rapid launch helped in avoiding the attacks.

It is still not clear how effective the capability of the missile planned by the Houthis will actually be. However, if the plan is implemented, new concern may be created in the regional security situation.