M167 Vulcan

Conflict Usage

Yemen Civil War

Side: Houthi-aligned forcesRole: Mobile direct fire and short-range air defenseair defensestrike

Houthi forces used captured M167 Vulcan guns during the Yemen Civil War, including examples mounted on Toyota Hilux technicals, an M54-series truck, and a BTR-152; reporting assessed their main observed use as ground fire against coalition-backed forces while retaining limited short-range air-defense utility.

M167 Vulcan Images

Related Weapon Systems

Air DefenseZPU-1 anti-aircraft gunSingle-barrel 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft gunThe ZPU-1 is the single-barrel member of the Soviet ZPU family, mounting a 14.5 mm KPV heavy machine gun on a light two-wheel carriage. In Yemen Civil War sourcing it appears in the Yemeni Army inventory and in technical-mounted configurations, making it a low-level air-defense and direct-fire weapon rather than a modern radar-guided system.

Air DefenseZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun14.5 mm quadruple towed anti-aircraft gunThe ZPU-4 is a Soviet quadruple 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun built around four KPV/KPVT heavy machine guns on a four-wheel carriage. In Yemen, open-source reporting connects ZPU-4-armed technicals to anti-Houthi Giants Brigades forces, giving the Cold War gun a continued role as mobile low-altitude air defense and direct-fire support.

Air Defense100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft gunTowed 100 mm anti-aircraft gunThe KS-19 is a Soviet 100 mm towed anti-aircraft gun designed for high-altitude air defense with radar-directed fire-control support, but its range and fixed ammunition also made it usable as a ground-fire artillery piece. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation identified Armenian/Artsakh KS-19 guns used as howitzers during the 2020 war.

Air Defense2K12 Kub / Kvadrat / SA-6 GainfulTracked medium-range surface-to-air missile systemThe 2K12 Kub, exported as Kvadrat and known to NATO as SA-6 Gainful, is a Soviet tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system built around 3M9 missiles, 2P25 launch vehicles, and the 1S91 Straight Flush radar. In recent conflict archives it appears as a legacy medium-range air-defense system, including Syrian use during the 2018 missile strikes, Armenian use in Nagorno-Karabakh, and a Houthi SA-6/Kub-family engagement that downed a U.S. MQ-9 over Yemen in 2019.

Air Defense61-K 37 mm anti-aircraft gunTowed 37 mm automatic anti-aircraft gunThe 61-K is a Soviet 37 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun built as a mobile, clip-fed short-range air-defense weapon. In the Yemen Civil War context, open-source reporting places 37 mm 61-K guns in Yemen's inherited anti-aircraft artillery inventory and describes Houthi-aligned forces using small-caliber anti-aircraft guns for both low-altitude air defense and ground fire.

Air Defense9K31 Strela-1Vehicle-mounted short-range surface-to-air missile systemThe 9K31 Strela-1, NATO reporting name SA-9 Gaskin, is a Soviet BRDM-2-based short-range surface-to-air missile system armed with 9M31 infrared-guided missiles. In the Yemen Civil War it is documented in Houthi-aligned air-defense holdings as equipment inherited from pre-war Yemeni Army stocks, a conservative indication of point air-defense capacity rather than a sourced claim for a specific engagement.

Sources