Yemen

Personnel & posture

Active personnel

43k

Mobilization window

~7 days to full field army

GDP (est.)

$21B

Order of battle

• Houthis — ballistic

  • Toufan / Burkan family50 – 100

    2,000 km claimed range

  • Quds-4 land-attack cruise40 – 80

    Precision strikes

• Houthis — drones

  • Samad-3 OWA100 – 200

    Long-range loitering

  • Shahed-136 (imported)200 – 500

    Maritime swarm attacks

• Houthis — maritime

  • Explosive USV50 – 100

    Red Sea shipping attacks

  • Coastal ASCM20 – 40

    Anti-ship denial

• Houthis — ground

  • Mountain infantry & militia50,000 – 80,000

    Saada & highlands

• Yemeni Air Force

  • MiG-29 / F-5 (fragmented)15 – 25

    Contested fast jets

• Aviation

  • Attack helos & transports30 – 50

    Coalition war remnant

• Naval forces

  • Patrol & mine craft15 – 25

    Red Sea & Bab el-Mandeb

• Mobilization

  • Ansar Allah / coalition fronts43,000 – 100,000

    Multi-front civil war

Bases & infrastructure (27)

• Yemen Ministry of Defense

  hub

  National command and crisis coordination

  command

• Yemen Army Headquarters

  military base

  Ground forces command and mobilization center

  army

• Yemen Primary Air Base

  airport

  Combat aviation and airlift hub

  air

• Yemen Naval Base

  port

  Fleet homeport and coastal defense

  naval

• Yemen Main Seaport

  port

  Strategic maritime trade and logistics gateway

  trade

• Yemen Defense Industrial Complex

  factory

  Ammunition, vehicles, and sustainment production

  manufacturing

• Yemen Munitions plant

  factory

  Artillery shells, small arms, explosives

  ammunition

• Yemen Oil & gas refinery

  factory

  Fuel processing and petrochemicals

  energy

• Yemen Integrated Air Defense Site

  military base

  Long-range SAM coverage for capital region

  air_defense

• Yemen Early Warning Radar

  military base

  Air and missile tracking

  air_defense

• Yemen Combined Arms Training Area

  military base

  Brigade-level exercises and mobilization

  training

• Yemen Border Defense Outpost

  military base

  Frontier surveillance and rapid response

  army

• Yemen Cyber Command Center

  hub

  Offensive/defensive cyber operations

  cyber

• Yemen Forward Corps HQ

  military base

  Theater-level ground command

  army

• Yemen Secondary Airfield

  airport

  Dispersal, training, and surge capacity

  air

• Sanaa mountain strongholds (Al-Dailami / Al-Sawad)

  military base

  Underground Toufan missile assembly — 2,000 km range class.

  missiles

• Abs Airport drone garrison (Hajjah)

  airport

  Samad-3 UAV and Quds-4 cruise missile launches.

  drone · missiles

• Bani drone operations complex

  military base

  Forward command for long-range strikes.

  drone

• Hodeidah coastal defense network

  port

  Anti-ship missiles and explosive USVs.

  naval

• Ras Isa oil terminal (militarized)

  port

  Red Sea interdiction and drone boat staging.

  naval

• Al-Salif port facilities

  port

  Coastal missile and logistics.

  naval

• Saada Province mountain depots

  military base

  Core leadership vault network — northern mountains.

  command

• Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint fires

  port

  Maritime attacks on Red Sea transit.

  naval

• Aden (government-held port)

  port

  Recognized government maritime access.

  trade

• Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint

  port

  Red Sea shipping — Houthi attack zone.

  shipping · oil

• Hodeidah port (Houthi)

  port

  Red Sea import & smuggling hub.

  shipping · trade

• Aden approaches patrol

  port

  Government-held southern gateway.

  naval · shipping

Deployable units (18)

• 1st Mechanized Brigade (Yemen)armor
• 3rd Infantry Division HQarmy
• 7th Artillery Regimentarmy
• Air Defense Battalion (capital)sam
• Special Operations Task Grouparmy
• Coastal Defense Regimentnavy
• Tactical UAV Squadrondrone
• Logistics Support Brigadefacility · Supply and transport hub
• Armored Cavalry Squadronarmor
• Combat Aviation Wing (detachment)air
• Toufan ballistic missile brigadefacility · 2,000 km class — Saudi/Gulf reach
• Burkan / Quds cruise missile unitfacility · Land-attack precision
• Samad-3 loitering munition wingdrone · Long-range OWA
• Shahed-136 import regimentdrone · Iran-supplied Red Sea swarms
• Explosive USV boat squadronnavy · Remote-controlled sea drones
• Coastal ASCM battery (Hodeidah)navy · Anti-ship coverage
• Saada mountain infantryarmy · Northern stronghold defense
• Red Sea attack cellnavy · Bab el-Mandeb operations

Theater glossary

Ansar Allah

Official name of the Houthi movement controlling northwest Yemen.

Toufan

Houthi ballistic missile family — Iranian design lineage, long range.

Bab el-Mandeb

Strait between Yemen and Djibouti — critical oil shipping chokepoint.

USV

Unmanned surface vessel — remote-controlled explosive boats vs merchant ships.

Chokepoint

Narrow sea or land passage where trade or military traffic can be blocked.

Rare earth

Elements used in magnets, motors, and precision weapons — China dominates refining.

SPR

Strategic Petroleum Reserve — emergency crude stockpile.

TSMC

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing — advanced logic fab cluster.

Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz — ~20% of global oil transits.

Malacca

Strait of Malacca — busiest shipping lane between Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Suwałki corridor

Poland–Lithuania land bridge — NATO logistics vulnerability.

Cobalt belt

DRC–Zambia mining corridor — battery supply chain.

Lithium triangle

Chile–Argentina–Bolivia brine deposits — EV battery input.

Grain corridor

Black Sea / Danube export routes — global food security.

Red Sea corridor

Bab el-Mandeb through Suez — Houthi interdiction risk.

Taiwan Strait lane

Kaohsiung–Busan chip & container sea lane under blockade exercise.

Black Sea grain lane

Odesa/Danube export routes under missile and mine threat.

Horn access lane

Djibouti–Massawa–Assab Red Sea port competition axis.