Direct proof of use
Human Rights Watch documented Paveway-family bomb use in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through remnants found after Saudi-led coalition airstrikes. In the March 15, 2016 Mastaba market strike, HRW reported that ITV journalists found remnants of an Mk 84 bomb paired with a Paveway laser guidance kit, and HRW reviewed the journalists' photographs and footage. In the September 10, 2016 Arhab water-drilling-site strike north of Sanaa, HRW identified two GBU-12 Paveway II 500-pound laser-guided bombs from wing-assembly remnants, including one Raytheon-produced U.S. component manufactured in October 2015.
Later NGO and open-source munition records broaden the Yemen evidence beyond those two incidents. HRW's 2018 report identified the munition used in the October 8, 2016 Great Hall funeral strike in Sanaa as a U.S.-manufactured GBU-12 Paveway II 500-pound laser-guided bomb. The joint Mwatana, University Network for Human Rights, and PAX report documented Paveway-series remnants across additional coalition strikes, including a U.S.-made GBU-12 in the April 22, 2018 Al-Raqa wedding strike and a likely Raytheon GBU-16 Paveway II in the December 31, 2015 Al-Kahlani factory strike. OSMP indexes multiple Yemen remnants under Paveway kit records, including GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-16 Paveway II, and GBU-24 Paveway III series entries.
Sources: HRW US-Made Bombs, HRW Mastaba Market Strike, HRW Hiding Behind the Coalition, Day of Judgment Report, OSMP Paveway Kit
Documented incidents
The earliest dated incident in the sources used here is the December 31, 2015 strike on Al-Kahlani Cosmetics Factory and Tahama Packaging Tools Company in Hudaydah Governorate. The Day of Judgment report says three Saudi/UAE-led coalition bombs struck the facilities and that recovered fragments were consistent with a U.S.-made, Raytheon-manufactured GBU-16 Paveway II fitted with an Mk 83 warhead. The report treats the GBU-16 identification as likely rather than absolute.
On March 15, 2016, two aerial bombs hit the Mastaba market in Hajjah Governorate. HRW's field investigation found JDAM remnants, while ITV journalists separately found remnants of an Mk 84 bomb paired with a Paveway laser guidance kit; HRW reviewed their images and footage. On September 10, 2016, HRW identified two GBU-12 Paveway II bombs after coalition aircraft struck the Arhab water-drilling site near Beit Saadan village in Sanaa Governorate.
Two later incidents show continuing Paveway-family identification by remnant analysis. HRW identified a GBU-12 Paveway II in the October 8, 2016 Great Hall funeral strike in Sanaa. The Day of Judgment report identified a U.S.-made GBU-12 with Mk 82 warhead in the April 22, 2018 Al-Raqa wedding strike in Bani Qais District, Hajjah Governorate. Amnesty International separately identified a U.S.-made 500-pound GBU-12 Paveway II from guidance-fin data after a June 28, 2019 strike on a residential home in Warzan village, Khadir District, Taiz Governorate.
Sources: Day of Judgment Report, HRW Mastaba Market Strike, HRW US-Made Bombs, HRW Hiding Behind the Coalition, Amnesty Airstrikes and Cluster Munitions
Role in the conflict
The documented Yemen role was air-launched precision strike by Saudi-led coalition aircraft. The sources identify Paveway use from remnants and post-strike technical analysis, not from coalition aircraft mission logs, so the open record supports the munition family, incident date, location, and coalition attribution while usually leaving the exact aircraft type unstated.
The record should also be separated by variant. GBU-12 and GBU-16 Paveway II identifications appear in the cited HRW, Amnesty, Mwatana, and OSMP evidence; OSMP also lists Yemen GBU-24 Paveway III records, while the separate Paveway IV page covers UK-manufactured Paveway IV incidents in more detail. This family page treats those as related Paveway-kit evidence rather than a single uniform bomb model.
Sources: HRW US-Made Bombs, HRW Hiding Behind the Coalition, Day of Judgment Report, Amnesty Airstrikes and Cluster Munitions, OSMP Paveway Kit
