Direct proof of use
The KS-19 is documented in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through Houthi-aligned air-defense equipment imagery rather than a public, source-verified firing incident. An open-source Houthi parade thread identifies Soviet 100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft guns in the September 2022 Hudaydah display, placing the guns with Houthi-aligned forces during the war.
A separate survey of Yemeni air defenses before and during the Saudi-led air campaign reports that reference sources listed approximately fifty 100 mm KS-19 and 85 mm KS-12 anti-aircraft guns in Yemen's legacy inventory. The same survey frames the systems as part of the air-defense forces available in Houthi-controlled territory after Ansar Allah expanded across Yemen, while judging the large-caliber guns more likely to be used against ground targets than as effective modern air-defense weapons.
Sources: Houthi Forces Hodeidah Parade, TopWar Yemen Air Defense Survey
Dated milestones
By the start of the coalition air campaign in 2015, Yemen still had a mixed legacy air-defense inventory that included towed anti-aircraft artillery. The TopWar survey describes Houthi control over a large part of Yemen and its air-defense assets after Ansar Allah's expansion, and lists KS-19/KS-12 heavy guns among the older anti-aircraft-gun types reported in the Yemeni inventory.
On September 1, 2022, Houthi forces staged a large military parade in Hudaydah. The UN Panel of Experts later treated the Hudaydah and Sanaa parades of September 2022 as large-scale displays of Houthi military material and separately listed air-defense systems displayed during those events. The parade source used for this entry identifies KS-19 guns in the Hudaydah display.
Sources: TopWar Yemen Air Defense Survey, UN Panel Hudaydah and Sanaa Parades, Houthi Forces Hodeidah Parade
Use pattern
In Yemen-war service, the KS-19 appears as a legacy heavy anti-aircraft gun retained by Houthi-aligned forces from older Yemeni state stocks. The cited evidence supports fielding and public display in Houthi air-defense equipment, but it does not identify a dated KS-19 firing engagement, aircraft claim, or specific ground target struck by a KS-19.
The likely operational role was therefore limited and opportunistic: static or towed heavy-gun air defense where serviceable, symbolic display as part of the Houthi air-defense inventory, and possible ground-fire use consistent with the weapon's large caliber and with the survey's assessment of old 85 mm and 100 mm guns. The entry does not treat the Hudaydah parade appearance as proof that the displayed guns were operational or recently fired.
Sources: Houthi Forces Hodeidah Parade, TopWar Yemen Air Defense Survey, UN Panel Hudaydah and Sanaa Parades
