Direct proof of use
Houthi explosive unmanned surface vessels were documented in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis as one-way maritime attack craft launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen against merchant and naval traffic. On 4 January 2024, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command commander Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said a Houthi one-way attack USV had transited from Houthi-controlled territory into international shipping lanes and detonated without hitting a ship.
The first confirmed ship hit came on 12 June 2024, when U.S. Central Command reported that an Iranian-backed Houthi USV struck M/V Tutor, a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned and operated bulk carrier, in the Red Sea. CENTCOM said the impact caused severe flooding and engine-room damage; Associated Press later reported that Tutor sank after the attack and that a mariner was believed killed.
Sources: NAVCENT Operation Prosperity Guardian Briefing, June 12 CENTCOM Update, AP Tutor Sinking
Timeline
The Red Sea record begins with attempted or unsuccessful USV use before the successful Tutor strike. Cooper described the 4 January 2024 event as the first Houthi one-way attack USV employment seen during Operation Prosperity Guardian and the recent Red Sea harassment campaign.
On 12 June 2024, Tutor was hit in the Red Sea. Business Insider, citing the same CENTCOM incident, described the strike as the first successful Houthi USV hit during the campaign after earlier drone boats had been destroyed or detonated without striking ships.
On 1 October 2024, Associated Press reported another ship hit: an explosive-loaded Houthi drone boat damaged the Panama-flagged tanker Cordelia Moon off Hodeida, puncturing one of its ballast tanks. The Joint Maritime Information Center's October statistics separately listed Cordelia Moon as an October incident and counted USVs among the Houthi incident types seen since November 2023.
Sources: NAVCENT Operation Prosperity Guardian Briefing, June 12 CENTCOM Update, Business Insider First Drone Boat Hit, AP Cordelia Moon Drone Boat Attack, JMIC October 2024 Statistics
Narrative
In the Red Sea campaign, the explosive USV functioned as an asymmetric anti-shipping weapon rather than a recoverable naval drone. Public reporting describes it as a low-profile, explosive-packed or explosive-loaded surface craft used to ram or detonate against vessels near dense shipping lanes and the Bab el-Mandeb approach.
The documented targets were commercial ships rather than fixed shore targets. Tutor was damaged badly enough that its crew abandoned ship and the bulk carrier later sank; Cordelia Moon sustained ballast-tank damage but continued after the attack. Those cases show the system's role in maritime interdiction and area denial alongside Houthi missiles, UAVs, small craft, and boarding operations.
The public sources identify Houthi forces as the user and provide incident-level evidence for launches and strikes, but they rarely identify a specific named USV model. This record therefore treats the weapon as a Houthi explosive USV category and separates confirmed USV incidents from broader Houthi missile, UAV, and small-boat attacks in the same crisis.
Sources: NAVCENT Operation Prosperity Guardian Briefing, AP Tutor Sinking, AP Cordelia Moon Drone Boat Attack, JMIC October 2024 Statistics
