Yemeni forces unveil advanced home-grown autonomous underwater vehicle

SANA’A : Yemeni Armed Forces have unveiled a new domestically-developed autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), which is expected to enhance the combat capabilities of Yemen’s maritime units in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The new homegrown achievement, dubbed al-Qari’a (Calamity), was showcased during a naval exercise in the Red Sea on Sunday.

The new suicide AUV would strengthen Yemen’s military might in the face of maritime security threats, and will help the country better safeguard its territorial waters.

It will also enable Yemeni naval units to carry out more precise operations. The unveiling of the autonomous underwater vehicle clearly sends a strong political and military message to enemies that Yemeni forces would not hesitate to respond to any act of aggression in the future.

Months ago, Yemeni Armed Forces seized a US Navy’s REMUS 600 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) off the coast of Yemen.

According to some reports, the device was being studied by Yemeni military experts and engineers. 

The midsized REMUS 600 can travel at speeds of up to 5 knots (9.3 km/h) and has an endurance of up to 70 hours at its standard cruising speed of 3 knots (5.6 km/h).

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they will not stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza end.

So far, Israel has killed at least 43,020 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 101,110 others in Gaza.