2014 Yemen Civil War

9M21 rocket in the 2014 Yemen Civil War

Houthi-aligned forces fired FROG-7 / 9M21 artillery rockets, called Zelzal in Houthi usage, from Yemen's inherited Luna-M stocks at targets in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia's Jizan and Najran border provinces.

Weapon profile9M21 rocket
SideHouthi-aligned forcesRoleLong-Range StrikeAsymmetric Advantage
9M21 rocket, Unguided artillery rocket, Munitions - 2014 Yemen Civil War
Image source: FROG-7 Rocket.jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimEvidence typeSources
Houthi-aligned forces fired at least 18 FROG-7 / 9M21 artillery rockets during the 2014 Yemen Civil War.Analytical count of Houthi missile and rocket use

Sources: Washington Institute Houthi Missile Improvements

The launches were against close-range targets in Yemen and Saudi Arabia's Jizan and Najran border provinces.Theater-specific target-area description

Sources: Washington Institute Houthi Missile Improvements

Yemen's prewar missile inventory included older FROG-7 / 9K52 Luna-M rocket-artillery systems.Inventory background for inherited Yemeni missile stocks

Sources: Jamestown Houthi Missiles

Later public reporting described the Soviet-era FROG-7 as a Houthi arsenal item called Zelzal with a 65 km range.Arsenal reporting

Sources: The National Houthi Ballistic Missiles

Timeline

9M21 rocket In 2014 Yemen Civil War

  1. Houthi-aligned forces gain access to Yemeni missile stocks

    After the Houthi takeover of Sanaa and alliance with forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, Houthi-aligned forces gained access to inherited Yemeni missile and rocket stocks, including older FROG-7 / Luna-M systems described in later reporting.

    Sources: Jamestown Houthi Missiles, Washington Institute Houthi Missile Improvements

  2. Saudi-led air campaign targets the inherited arsenal

    The Washington Institute describes a 2015 Saudi air campaign against known armories that removed some longer-range missiles from the Houthi arsenal while the remaining initial stock was later expended.

    Sources: Washington Institute Houthi Missile Improvements

  3. FROG-7 rockets fired in Yemen and Saudi border provinces

    The Washington Institute reports that at least 18 FROG-7 artillery rockets were fired at close-range targets in Yemen and Saudi Arabia's Jizan and Najran border provinces before the initial inherited arsenal was expended by 2017.

    Sources: Washington Institute Houthi Missile Improvements

  4. FROG-7 still described in Houthi arsenal reporting

    The National described the Soviet-era FROG-7, called Zelzal by the Houthis, as one of the shorter-range systems in the Houthi ballistic-missile arsenal.

    Sources: The National Houthi Ballistic Missiles

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The 9M21 rocket appears in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through Houthi-aligned use of FROG-7 artillery rockets from Yemen's inherited Luna-M inventory. The Washington Institute's 2021 analysis of Houthi missile and drone development states that at least 18 FROG-7 artillery rockets, called Zelzal by the Houthis, were fired at close-range targets in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia's Jizan and Najran border provinces.

That source supports campaign-level rocket use rather than a public list of individually dated 9M21 launches. The catalog record therefore treats the Yemen case as confirmed Houthi-aligned firing of FROG-7 / 9M21 artillery rockets, while leaving individual strike attribution to sources that identify a specific munition in a specific incident.

Sources: Washington Institute Houthi Missile Improvements

Inventory and launch context

The rockets came from older Yemeni state missile stocks rather than a newly introduced Houthi precision system. Jamestown reported in 2017 that Yemen's missile brigades possessed obsolete FROG-7 / 9K52 Luna-M rocket-artillery systems before and during the Houthi-Saleh missile-stockpile crisis.

The Washington Institute places the FROG-7 launches in the Houthis' initial rocket and missile inventory after they seized or raided depots and allied with forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. It also states that this initial stock was expended by 2017 after the 2015 Saudi air campaign removed some longer-range missiles from the arsenal.

Sources: Jamestown Houthi Missiles, Washington Institute Houthi Missile Improvements

Use pattern

The documented user was Houthi-aligned forces. The supported role was short-range ballistic rocket fire against targets inside Yemen and across the Saudi border, making the 9M21 part of the wider Houthi missile campaign rather than a single battlefield episode.

Open reporting also uses the name Zelzal for more than one rocket family, so the strongest 9M21-specific claim is the Washington Institute's identification of FROG-7 artillery rockets under that Houthi label. Later reporting by The National described the Soviet-era FROG-7 as a Houthi arsenal item called Zelzal with a 65 km range, but it does not by itself identify individual FROG-7 launches.

Sources: Washington Institute Houthi Missile Improvements, The National Houthi Ballistic Missiles

Related Weapons by Role

140 mm M-14 rocket, 140 mm unguided artillery rocket, MunitionsMunitions140 mm M-14 rocket140 mm unguided artillery rocketThe 140 mm M-14 is a Soviet spin-stabilized artillery rocket family developed for BM-14 and RPU-14 multiple rocket launchers. Open references identify high-explosive fragmentation, smoke/incendiary, and chemical-warhead branches; conflict documentation places an M-14 rocket motor in the 2013 Western Ghouta attack during the Syrian Civil War, with attribution and payload evidence handled narrowly because public imagery and UN reporting identify the motor and attack context more clearly than a recovered intact M-14 warhead.
2 more weapons
Back to 9M21 rocketBrowse 2014 Yemen Civil War

Sources