Direct proof of use
The KPV's documented Yemen Civil War record rests on a 2018 front-line report from Nihm Mountain, east of Sanaa. Fox News described soldiers loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government climbing onto a truck-mounted ZPU-2 anti-aircraft gun and firing after a Houthi target was spotted nearby.
The same report identifies the ZPU-2 as a twin 14.5 mm mount made up of two KPV heavy machine guns. GulfLINK's air-defense reference separately describes the ZPU-2 as a twin KPV system that can be used for low-altitude air defense and in a ground role.
Sources: Fox News Nihm Front Report, GulfLINK ZPU-Series Reference
Timeline
By July 2018, the Nihm front remained one of the approaches from government-held positions toward Houthi-controlled Sanaa. During Fox News's front-line visit, government-aligned soldiers fired the truck-mounted ZPU-2 at a nearby Houthi target, and Houthi forces returned fire shortly afterward.
The available sources support a dated firing incident rather than a complete inventory of KPV-family guns in Yemen. The evidence therefore supports a narrow role description: government-aligned forces used a truck-mounted twin-KPV ZPU-2 for direct fire against Houthi targets near Sanaa.
Sources: Fox News Nihm Front Report, GulfLINK ZPU-Series Reference
Narrative
In this Yemen record, the KPV appears through its ZPU-2 mount rather than as a standalone infantry gun. ZPU mounts package KPV-family guns with carriages, feed boxes, sights, and mounting hardware, so conflict reporting often names the mount while still identifying the underlying gun family.
The documented Nihm incident places the system with soldiers loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi's government during fighting on the eastern approaches to Sanaa. The described employment was ground fire from a truck-mounted anti-aircraft gun toward a Houthi target, fitting the KPV family's common wartime use as heavy fire support when installed on vehicle or anti-aircraft mounts.
The sources do not establish a first arrival date, a theater-wide quantity, or confirmed Houthi operation of KPV-family guns in this specific record. They do directly support Yemeni government-aligned use of a twin-KPV ZPU-2 during the 2014 Yemen Civil War.
Sources: Fox News Nihm Front Report, GulfLINK ZPU-Series Reference
