On October 27, the Yemeni Missiles Force revealed in an official statement that it had developed a guided copy of the locally-made Badir-1 solid fuel artillery rocket. According to the statement, the new copy, which is named “Badir-1P,” has a circular error probable (CEP) of less than 3 meters.
“In 2018, Yemen obtained precision-guided missile capabilities, we will soon, inshallah, reveal other systems,” the Yemeni Missiles Force said in its statement.
The Yemeni al-Masirah TV reported that the Yemeni Missiles Force had carried out a series of successful tests of the new guided artillery rocket. In its most recent tests, the Badir-1P hit a camp of the Sudanese military on the western Yemen coast with great precision.
The Yemeni Missiles Force didn’t share any details about the Badir-1P. However, experts revealed that the new rocket is almost identical to the original Badir-1 but with added guidance sanction, which was installed between the soiled fuel booster and the rocket’s warhead.
Click to see full-size image
The guidance section includes 4 moving fins to stabilize and guide the rocket to its target accurately. An access hatch was also installed in the section, likely for maintenance purposes. The rocket’s photos also showed that it uses a Soviet-made SM-63 launcher, which is a part of the S-75 Dvina air-defense system.
Badir-1P on a SM-63 launcher, Click to see full-size image
According to experts, the Badir-1P is likely guided by an internal navigation system (INS) and some sort of a satellite navigation system such as GPS or GLONASS. As the Houthis don’t have access to military satellite navigation systems, the accuracy of the rocket is likely way less than that claimed by the Yemeni Missiles Forces.
The interdiction of the Badir-1P will likely increase the tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as the Kingdom believes that the Houthis are manufacturing these weapons with direct support from Iranian experts.
