Direct proof of use
The Burkan-3 appears in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through Houthi-aligned long-range missile attacks from Yemen into Saudi Arabia. CSIS reports that the Houthis unveiled the Burkan-3 medium-range ballistic missile in August 2019 and first employed it on August 1, 2019, against a Saudi military site in Dammam, about 1,200 km from Houthi-held territory.
Breaking Defense gives a more cautious reading of the same 2019 public claim, noting that Ansar Allah released footage of the new Burkan-3, claimed a Dammam attack, and that the August 2019 attack was not confirmed at the time. The same analysis states that a Houthi ballistic missile did hit Dammam on March 7, 2021, demonstrating the extended reach associated with the Burkan-3 class.
Sources: The Missile War in Yemen, Breaking Defense Houthi Terror Scuds
Timeline
CSIS places the Burkan-3's first employment on August 1, 2019, during the missile-war phase that followed the Saudi-led coalition's 2015 intervention. Its appendix describes the missile as the longest-range missile then in the Houthi arsenal and links it to a Dammam strike on Saudi Arabia's east coast.
By 2021, the same missile family appeared in reporting under the Zulfiqar name. Iran Watch says Houthi media later began using Zulfiqar for the same Burkan-3 system that had been in the Houthi arsenal since 2019, while a 2024 Defense Intelligence Agency report assesses the Houthi Burkan-3/Zulfiqar as consistent with Iran's Qiam/Rezvan medium-range ballistic missile line.
Sources: The Missile War in Yemen, Iran Solidifies Missile Support to the Houthis, DIA Iran Enabling Houthi Attacks
Narrative
The Burkan-3 expanded the Houthi ballistic-missile threat from Yemen beyond earlier Burkan-2H attacks against Riyadh. CSIS describes it as the Houthis' longest-range missile as of 2020, and Breaking Defense calculates that its demonstrated reach put Saudi Arabia's Gulf Coast, including the Dammam area, within range from northern Yemen.
The public record separates claimed use, confirmed impact reporting, and design attribution. CSIS records the August 1, 2019 Dammam strike as the first Burkan-3 employment, while Breaking Defense notes that the 2019 Dammam claim was not confirmed at the time but that Dammam was later hit by a Houthi ballistic missile on March 7, 2021. Both sources support the conflict role as Houthi long-range strike rather than front-line fire support.
Open-source and U.S. government assessments link the Burkan-3/Zulfiqar to Iranian Qiam-derived missile technology. Iran Watch says Iran built a customized Qiam variant for the Houthis and that Houthi media later used Zulfiqar for the same system; DIA's 2024 visual comparison assesses the Houthi Burkan-3/Zulfiqar as consistent with Iran's Qiam/Rezvan MRBM and states that the Houthis have launched Burkan-3 missiles against countries in the region since 2019.
Sources: The Missile War in Yemen, Breaking Defense Houthi Terror Scuds, Iran Solidifies Missile Support to the Houthis, DIA Iran Enabling Houthi Attacks
