Direct proof of use
The C-802/Noor missile family is documented in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through the October 2016 Red Sea missile attacks from Houthi-controlled coastal territory. USNI News reported that USS Mason was attacked on October 9, 2016 by two missiles believed to be Chinese-built C-802s supplied to Houthi rebels through Iran-linked channels, and that the same missile type was likely involved in the earlier attack on the UAE-operated HSV-2 Swift.
CSIS assesses the October 1, 2016 strike on HSV-2 Swift as most likely a radar-guided C-801 or C-802 anti-ship missile fired by Houthi fighters from Yemen's coast. The same CSIS study describes the October 9 USS Mason attack as involving incoming missiles likely also from the C-801/C-802 family, then records additional anti-ship missile engagements against Mason on October 12 and October 15.
Sources: USNI New Yemen Missile Attack, CSIS Missile War in Yemen
Timeline
The maritime-use record begins on October 1, 2016, when Houthi fighters fired a ground-based anti-ship missile at HSV-2 Swift near Bab el-Mandeb, badly damaging the UAE logistics vessel. Open reporting and later research identify the missile as likely C-801/C-802 or C-802-class.
On October 9, USS Mason and USS Ponce were operating in international waters north of Bab el-Mandeb when two suspected cruise missiles were fired from the Yemeni shore. On October 12, Mason again came under missile fire near the Red Sea coast of Yemen, and the U.S. Defense Department said subsequent U.S. strikes targeted Houthi-controlled radar sites involved in recent missile launches threatening Mason and other vessels.
Sources: CSIS Missile War in Yemen, USNI Mason Defensive Fire, USNI New Yemen Missile Attack, Pentagon Radar Site Strike Statement
Narrative
In Yemen, the C-802/Noor family functioned as a coastal anti-ship strike weapon for Houthi-aligned forces. The documented targets were coalition or U.S. naval and logistics vessels operating near the Bab el-Mandeb and Red Sea approaches, not inland military targets.
The evidence points to a mixed lineage rather than a single perfectly identified missile stock. RUSI describes Houthi access to anti-ship cruise missiles such as Al-Mandab 2, a close copy of the Chinese C-802, and notes that Iran reverse-engineered the C-802 into the Noor. IISS similarly assesses that Houthi primary anti-ship cruise missiles are Iranian-made C-802 derivatives, while noting that older Soviet and Chinese legacy systems were inherited from Yemen's pre-war navy and that operational status of some legacy missiles is uncertain.
This page therefore treats the conflict entry as C-802/Noor-family use rather than proof that every October 2016 round was an original Chinese export C-802. The strongest public evidence supports Houthi-aligned firing of C-801/C-802-class or C-802-derived anti-ship cruise missiles against HSV-2 Swift and USS Mason during the 2014 Yemen Civil War.
Sources: RUSI Securing the Red Sea, IISS Navigating Troubled Waters, CSIS Missile War in Yemen, USNI New Yemen Missile Attack
