Profile
- Type
- Naval mine
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Origin
- Multiple countries
- Service note
- 19th century to present
Munitions
Sea mine
Sea mines are explosive naval weapons laid in water to damage ships and submarines. In the Yemen Civil War, Houthi-aligned forces used sea mines in the Red Sea and around Bab el-Mandeb to threaten fishing boats and commercial shipping lanes.
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Built by
- Various manufacturers
- Built in
- Multiple
Service History
- In service
- Used for maritime area denial, channelization, and port defense.
- Used by
- Various navies, Houthi-aligned forces
- Wars
- Yemen Civil War
Production History
- Designer
- Various naval ordnance designers
- Designed
- 19th century
- Built by
- Various manufacturers
- Built in
- Multiple
- Produced
- 19th century to present
- Variants
- Contact mines, Influence mines, Moored mines, Bottom mines
Specifications
- Function
- Anti-ship and anti-submarine area denial weapon
- Deployment
- Can be laid from aircraft, submarines, surface vessels, or small craft depending on the design
- Fuzing
- May detonate on contact or on magnetic, acoustic, pressure, or other influence cues
- Tactical effect
- Used to block channels, ports, anchorages, and shallow littoral approaches
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Houthi-aligned forcesRole: Maritime area denial
During the Yemen Civil War, sea mines used by Houthi-aligned forces were laid in the Red Sea and near Hodeidah to threaten fishing boats and shipping routes.
Sea mine Images
Related Weapon Systems
Al-Mandab-1 anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileAl-Mandab-1 is the Houthi designation for a Chinese C-801-family anti-ship cruise missile. Open-source reporting ties it to pre-war Yemeni stocks and shows Houthi forces fielding it during the Yemen Civil War, while the exact C-801 or C-802 variant remains uncertain.
Al-Mandab-2 anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileAl-Mandab-2 is the Houthi designation for a long-range anti-ship cruise missile used in the Yemen Civil War against Red Sea shipping. UN reporting described it as a seven-meter, 300-kilometer system with micro-turbojet propulsion and noted strong external similarities to the C-802 and Iran's Ghader/Ghadir family.C-801 anti-ship missileAnti-ship cruise missileThe C-801 is China's export version of the YJ-8, a solid-rocket, sea-skimming anti-ship missile that entered Yemeni inventories before the civil war and was later assessed as likely used by Houthi forces in the 2016 Bab el-Mandab attacks.
C-802 anti-ship missileAnti-ship cruise missileThe C-802 is a Chinese export anti-ship cruise missile built by CASIC's Third Academy. In Yemen Civil War reporting, it is the class believed to have been used by Houthi-aligned forces in the October 2016 Red Sea attacks on HSV-2 Swift and USS Mason..jpg?width=480)
Quds-Z-0 anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileThe Quds-Z-0 is a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile unveiled in 2023 as an anti-shipping derivative of the Iranian Paveh/Quds land-attack family. Open-source analysis describes it as EO/IR-guided, likely produced in Iran or Yemen with Iranian technical support, and fielded in Yemen Civil War maritime-strike displays.
Sayyad anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileThe Sayyad is a Houthi-fielded anti-ship cruise missile first displayed in Sana'a in 2023 and linked by analysts to Iran's Paveh/Project 351 cruise-missile lineage. In the Yemen Civil War, it added a long-range naval strike option to the Houthi arsenal and was reported in the Red Sea campaign.Sources
US Navy Mines Fact FilePublisher: U.S. Navy | Note: Supports general mine family background, the anti-ship and anti-submarine role, and shallow-water deployment by aircraft or submarines. | Accessed: 2026-06-20National Academies Mine Warfare OverviewPublisher: National Research Council | Note: Supports the mine warfare overview, platform flexibility, and the use of naval mines to deny access to coastal zones, ports, anchorages, and offshore structures. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Xinhua Houthi Sea Mine ReportPublisher: Xinhua | Note: Yemen Civil War: sea mines used by Houthi rebels were laid in the Red Sea near Hodeidah and around Bab el-Mandeb, killing fishermen and threatening shipping routes. | Accessed: 2026-06-20UN Human Rights Council Yemen StatementPublisher: United Nations Digital Library | Note: Yemen Civil War: sea mines used by Houthi militias were cited as part of mines laid on land and at sea in the conflict. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Mk 6 Mine PhotoPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the public-domain U.S. Navy moored contact mine Mk.6 photo. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Sea Mine SVGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the CC0 sea mine illustration derived from a German Second World War mine. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons German Naval Mine PhotoPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the CC BY-SA 4.0 German naval mine photograph from the military museum in Belgrade. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons British Mk 14 Mine PhotoPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the GNU FDL-licensed British Mk 14 sea mine photograph. | Accessed: 2026-06-20