Direct proof of use
Armament Research Services documented a PGW LRT-3 .50 BMG sniper weapon system in Houthi-aligned service during the 2014 Yemen Civil War. ARES identified the rifle from images that circulated online after June 2015 clashes with Saudi border guards and reported that Houthi forces had seized it on 11 June 2015.
The public evidence supports Houthi-aligned possession and fielding of at least one suppressed LRT-3 in the Yemen conflict. It does not establish a confirmed unit inventory, a total number of rifles, or an independently verified direct export path to Houthi forces.
Sources: ARES PGW LRT-3 Yemen
Timeline
The available dated trail begins on 11 June 2015, when reports cited by ARES said Houthi forces seized the LRT-3 after fighting with Saudi border guards. ARES published its identification on 19 November 2015, during the high-intensity phase that followed the Saudi-led coalition intervention earlier that year.
Amnesty International Canada and Project Ploughshares later cited the ARES report while discussing allegations that Canadian-made sniper rifles had entered the Yemen war through Saudi-linked supply or diversion channels. That report supports the broader arms-transfer context, but the direct LRT-3-in-Houthi-service claim remains anchored in the ARES image analysis.
Sources: ARES PGW LRT-3 Yemen, No Credible Evidence Report
Narrative
In Yemen, the LRT-3 appears as a captured or seized heavy sniper and anti-materiel rifle rather than as a documented formal procurement by Houthi-aligned forces. ARES described the rifle as a bolt-action .50 BMG system fitted with a suppressor, displayed alongside other captured small arms including G36-series rifles, a G3A3-type rifle, and another bolt-action sniper rifle assessed as likely a PGW Timberwolf.
PGW Defence Technologies describes the LRT-3 as a long-range .50 caliber sniper weapon system for hard and soft targets. In the Yemen record, that technical role explains why the rifle is cataloged as long-range anti-materiel precision fire, while the sourced conflict claim is limited to its appearance and seizure in Houthi-aligned service after the June 2015 border clashes.
Sources: ARES PGW LRT-3 Yemen, PGW LRT-3 Product Page
