Direct proof of use
The PGM500 / Hakim 2 record is tied to the 2014 Yemen Civil War through remnant analysis from Saudi-led coalition air operations. ARES published a conflict-damage assessment for a 23 September 2015 strike on the Radfan Ceramics Factory at Matnah, southwest of Sana'a, and identified the munition as a Hakim A-series precision guided munition employed by United Arab Emirates Air Force multirole aircraft.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch separately reported that remnants from the same strike site were consistent with an air-launched PGM-500 "Hakim" missile. Their analysis also compared the Sana'a-area fragments with remnants from another PGM-500/Hakim munition documented after it failed in Sahar, Saada governorate, in early November 2015.
Sources: ARES Hakim A Series in Yemen, Amnesty Coalition Used UK Missile, HRW Letter on UK Arms Sales
Timeline
On 23 September 2015, one or more coalition aircraft struck the Radfan Ceramics Factory in the Matnah area. ARES assessed with high confidence that at least one munition that struck the site was a Hakim A-series precision guided munition, while Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch identified the munition as a PGM-500 Hakim based on photographed remnants and field research.
A second documented Yemen incident followed in Sahar, Saada governorate, on 4 or 5 November 2015, where a PGM-500/Hakim-type munition reportedly failed and came down in an open field. CSIS later summarized both the Matnah strike and the Saada failed-munition event in its PGM-500/PGM-2000 operational history.
Sources: ARES Hakim A Series in Yemen, Amnesty Coalition Used UK Missile, CSIS PGM-500 / PGM-2000
Narrative
The documented Yemen use centers on coalition air-launched precision strike activity rather than ground possession or local manufacture. ARES linked the Matnah strike to UAE Air Force Mirage 2000-9 or F-16E/F aircraft as the likely delivery platforms after reviewing damage, munition remnants, known regional operators, and available ordnance inventories.
Defense News later reported that UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, responding to a parliamentary question, listed the PGM500, also known as Hakim 2, among British-supplied precision-guided weapons used in Yemen. That reporting supports continued classification of the system as a coalition-operated air-to-surface precision munition in the Yemen conflict.
Sources: ARES Hakim A Series in Yemen, Defense News UK-Supplied Precision Weapons
