2014 Yemen Civil War

Misagh-1 MANPADS in the 2014 Yemen Civil War

Houthi-aligned forces are documented with a QW-1-pattern MANPADS in Amran, Yemen, in August 2022. Small Arms Survey links Iran's domestic QW-1 assembly to the Misagh-1 designation, so the Yemen evidence supports a QW-1/Misagh-lineage air-defense inventory claim rather than a serial-confirmed Misagh-1 launch or shootdown.

Weapon profileMisagh-1 MANPADS
SideHouthi-aligned forcesRoleAir Defense
Misagh-1 MANPADS, Man-portable infrared-guided surface-to-air missile, Air Defense - 2014 Yemen Civil War
Image source: 2018 Sacred Defence Week parade (894).jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Houthi-aligned forces displayed at least one QW-1-pattern MANPADS in Amran, Yemen, in August 2022.

Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region

Iran imported QW-1 systems and assembled them domestically as Misagh-1, making the Yemen evidence relevant to the QW-1/Misagh-lineage catalog entry.

Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region

The direct Yemen evidence supports possession or fielding, not a confirmed launch, target, or shootdown.

Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region

The source record does not prove whether the displayed QW-1-pattern system was Chinese-made, Iranian-assembled as Misagh-1, or traceable to a specific production lot.

Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region

Houthi Misagh-series sustainment appears import-dependent in public reporting, with Arms Control Wonk treating Misagh/QW-series systems as more sophisticated than locally sustained Strela-pattern MANPADS.

Sources: Mad Max MANPADS in Yemen

Timeline

Misagh-1 MANPADS In 2014 Yemen Civil War

  1. Jihan arms shipment interdicted before the civil-war phase

    Yemeni authorities interdicted the Jihan, a vessel travelling from Iran toward Yemen; Small Arms Survey records QW-pattern MANPADS components among the seized materiel, but this event predates the 2014 civil-war phase.

    Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region

  2. Houthi-aligned forces take Sanaa

    The conflict phase represented in this catalog began with the Houthi takeover of Yemen's capital, setting the wartime context for later Houthi weapons displays and air-defense activity.

    Sources: ACLED Yemen Conflict Methodology

  3. QW-1-pattern MANPADS displayed in Amran

    Small Arms Survey identified video from a Houthi military graduation ceremony in Amran showing at least one QW-1-pattern MANPADS and one QW-18-pattern MANPADS.

    Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The Misagh-1 appears in the 2014 Yemen Civil War record through QW-1-pattern MANPADS evidence tied to Houthi-aligned forces. Small Arms Survey's 2024 report identifies at least one QW-1-pattern MANPADS displayed by Houthi soldiers during a military graduation ceremony in the Sixth Military District, Amran, Yemen, in August 2022.

The same report states that Iran imported QW-1 MANPADS in the 1990s and later assembled them domestically as the Misagh-1. That supports a conservative catalog claim for Houthi possession or fielding of a QW-1/Misagh-lineage system in Yemen, while stopping short of a serial-number-level Misagh-1 identification, a dated launch, or a confirmed aircraft loss.

Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region

Timeline

Before the civil-war period represented here, Yemeni authorities interdicted the Jihan arms shipment in January 2013. Small Arms Survey describes the shipment as containing MANPADS components, including QW-18-pattern components, on a vessel travelling from Iran toward Yemen.

During the war, the first public evidence cited by Small Arms Survey for Houthi QW-pattern MANPADS after that interdiction was the August 2022 ceremony footage from Amran, which showed at least one QW-18-pattern and one QW-1-pattern MANPADS alongside Strela-pattern systems.

Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region

Narrative

The Yemen evidence places the system in Houthi-aligned short-range air defense rather than in a documented firing event. The identified QW-1-pattern launcher was displayed by Houthi soldiers, and the source does not attribute a specific engagement, aircraft target, or shootdown to that launcher.

The supply context is also source-limited but relevant. Small Arms Survey assesses Iran as the most likely source of illicit QW-pattern MANPADS for groups including the Houthis, noting that Iran is the only known government outside China with both QW-1- and QW-18-pattern systems in its arsenal and that Iran assembled imported QW-1 systems as Misagh-1. Arms Control Wonk separately describes the Houthis as reliant on imported Misagh-series MANPADS and points to the 2013 dhow seizure and later Houthi parade evidence as part of that inventory story.

For this page, the operational claim remains narrow: Houthi-aligned forces fielded or displayed a QW-1/Misagh-lineage shoulder-fired air-defense system in the 2014 Yemen Civil War. The cited sources do not establish whether the displayed QW-1-pattern system was Chinese-made, Iranian-assembled as Misagh-1, or otherwise traceable to a specific production lot.

Sources: Persistent Perils: Illicit MANPADS in the MENA Region, Mad Max MANPADS in Yemen

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Sources