Direct proof of use
Shahed-136 use in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis is documented through the Houthi Waid-2 designation. CSIS Missile Threat identifies Waid-2 as the Houthi alternate name for the Shahed-136 and states that by early 2024 the Houthis employed Shahed-136 UAVs against commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
The Defense Intelligence Agency separately published a February 2024 unclassified report comparing the Houthi Waid-2 one-way attack UAV with Iran's Shahed-136. CENTCOM's release on that report said DIA compared Iranian missiles and UAVs with systems displayed and employed by Houthi forces in Yemen to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea and other regional targets.
Sources: CSIS Missile Threat Shahed-131 and -136, DIA Iran Houthi Report, CENTCOM DIA Report Release
Timeline
The Houthi Red Sea maritime campaign began in late 2023, with DIA and CENTCOM describing missile and UAV attacks against commercial shipping from November 2023 onward. The public model-specific evidence used here is less granular than the incident-level record for generic one-way attack UAVs: it supports Waid-2/Shahed-136 use at campaign level, not a named vessel strike tied to a recovered Waid-2 airframe.
By January 17, 2024, the information cutoff date noted in CENTCOM's release, DIA had prepared its comparison of Iranian and Houthi systems, including the Shahed-136/Waid-2 one-way attack UAV. CSIS later summarized the operational connection, saying the Houthis had employed Shahed-136 UAVs against commercial vessels in the Red Sea by early 2024.
Sources: CENTCOM DIA Report Release, DIA Iran Houthi Report, CSIS Missile Threat Shahed-131 and -136
Role in the campaign
In Red Sea Crisis use, the Shahed-136/Waid-2 appears as a Houthi long-range one-way attack UAV rather than a reusable aircraft. Its documented role fits the broader Houthi pattern of launching Iranian-origin or Iranian-designed UAVs and missiles from Yemen toward shipping lanes, merchant vessels, and maritime forces around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The sources support separating model identity from individual incidents. DIA and CSIS connect Waid-2 to the Shahed-136 airframe family, while CENTCOM's public incident statements often describe the weapons in class terms such as one-way attack UAVs. This record therefore treats the Shahed-136/Waid-2 as a documented Houthi Red Sea campaign weapon without assigning it to every reported drone attack in the theater.
Sources: CSIS Missile Threat Shahed-131 and -136, DIA Iran Houthi Report, CENTCOM DIA Report Release
