Houthi-aligned forces used the Burkan-2H for long-range ballistic missile attacks from Yemen into Saudi Arabia, including documented 2017 strikes toward Yanbu and Riyadh.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| Houthi-aligned forces used the Burkan-2H in the 2014 Yemen Civil War. | Sources: CSIS Qiam-1, IISS Iran Missile and UAV Proliferation |
| The missile was used for long-range strikes into Saudi Arabia, including Yanbu and Riyadh. | Sources: CSIS Qiam-1, ACLED Beyond Riyadh, Human Rights Watch Riyadh Airport Strike |
| Open-source assessments connect the Burkan-2H to the Iranian Qiam-1 missile family. | Sources: IISS Iran Missile and UAV Proliferation, CSIS Missile War in Yemen |
Timeline
Houthi-aligned forces fired a Burkan-2H toward Yanbu, Saudi Arabia; CSIS identifies this as the missile's first documented firing.
Sources: CSIS Qiam-1, ACLED Beyond Riyadh
Houthi-Saleh forces launched a Burkan H2/Burkan-2H toward King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, with Saudi authorities reporting an intercept.
Sources: CSIS Qiam-1, Human Rights Watch Riyadh Airport Strike
CSIS records Saudi claims of additional Burkan-2H intercepts over Riyadh in April, May, and June 2018.
Sources: CSIS Qiam-1
The Burkan-2H appears in the 2014 Yemen Civil War as a Houthi-aligned long-range strike weapon used against targets in Saudi Arabia. CSIS records the first Burkan-2H firing on July 22, 2017, when Houthi rebels targeted an oil refining facility at Yanbu, and records another Burkan-2H launch against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on November 4, 2017.
IISS likewise describes the Burkan-2H as a Qiam-derived missile unveiled by the Houthis in 2017 and subsequently used against Yanbu and Riyadh. Human Rights Watch, citing Houthi-Saleh-aligned media and Saudi reporting, documented the November 4, 2017 Burkan H2 attack on King Khalid International Airport and said fragments fell inside the airport area after Saudi air defenses reported an intercept.
Sources: CSIS Qiam-1, IISS Iran Missile and UAV Proliferation, Human Rights Watch Riyadh Airport Strike
The documented Burkan-2H sequence begins in July 2017, when the missile extended Houthi strike reach from northern Yemen to western Saudi Arabia. ACLED places the Yanbu strike within Operation Beyond Riyadh and describes it as a Burkan-2H hit on the Saudi Aramco refinery at Yanbu.
The Riyadh attack followed on November 4, 2017. CSIS and Human Rights Watch both identify the target as King Khalid International Airport, while CSIS notes later Saudi claims of Burkan-2H intercepts over Riyadh in April, May, and June 2018.
Sources: ACLED Beyond Riyadh, CSIS Qiam-1, Human Rights Watch Riyadh Airport Strike
The Burkan-2H shifted Houthi-aligned missile activity from shorter-range battlefield and border attacks toward strategic targets deep inside Saudi territory. CSIS's Yemen missile-war study describes Houthi ballistic missile, cruise missile, and drone attacks against coalition bases, population centers, and infrastructure as a central feature of the war.
Open-source assessments connect the weapon to Iran's Qiam-1 missile family rather than to a purely local Yemeni design. IISS reports that analysis of Houthi launch footage and Saudi-displayed debris led independent experts and the UN Panel of Experts to assess the Burkan-2H as a modified Iranian Qiam missile, cut into pieces for smuggling and reassembled in Yemen.
The sources support use, operator, and target context, but they separate those claims from broader questions of transfer responsibility and attack legality. Human Rights Watch attributed a legal judgment to the November 2017 Riyadh airport strike; this page treats that as HRW's assessment and uses the report primarily for the documented missile-use facts.
Sources: CSIS Missile War in Yemen, IISS Iran Missile and UAV Proliferation, Human Rights Watch Riyadh Airport Strike
