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A new report documented efforts to smuggle hydrogen fuel cell components into Yemen that will provide Houthi fighters a technological leap ahead.
By John Ismay
John Ismay has reported on how Russia and terrorist groups have acquired advanced weapon technologies since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
March 13, 2025Updated 9:39 a.m. ET
For more than a year, Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked merchant vessels and warships in the Red Sea with missiles, drones and speedboats loaded with explosives, disrupting global trade through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Claiming solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, the Houthis have hit vessels as far as 100 miles off the Yemeni coast, prompting retaliatory airstrikes by U.S. and Israeli warplanes.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, largely discontinued their attacks when Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire in January. But evidence examined by weapons researchers shows that the rebels may have acquired new technology that makes drones more difficult to detect and helps them fly even farther.
“It could potentially give the Houthis an element of surprise against U.S. or Israeli military forces if they were to restart any of these conflicts,” said Taimur Khan, an investigator with Conflict Armament Research, a British group that identifies and tracks weapons and ammunition used in wars around the world.
Mr. Khan traveled to southwestern Yemen in November to document parts of a hydrogen fuel cell system that government forces found in a small boat offshore, alongside other weapons known to be used by Houthi fighters.
Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity through a reaction of oxygen in the air and compressed hydrogen across a series of charged metal plates. They release water vapor but little heat or noise.
