News - Yemen: Major General Mohammed Ali al-Qadri, Commander of Yemen’s Coastal Defense Forces, affirmed that Yemen’s naval capabilities are advancing steadily in line with the demands of the current stage, enabling the country to strengthen its deterrence and safeguard its territorial waters.

His remarks came after recent  acknowledgments that Yemen’s Naval Forces, based in Sana’a, possess unprecedented maritime technologies. Chief among them is the Al-Qari‘a, an unmanned, remotely operated submarine that American reports describe as a strategic threat in the Red Sea. A recent assessment by the US Naval Institute ranked Yemen among the few nations worldwide capable of deploying such advanced undersea weapons—evidence, al-Qadri said, of the failure of the aggression coalition’s deterrence strategy.

Al-Qadri described the Al-Qari‘a as one of the most significant achievements of Yemen’s Armed Forces, citing its versatility in executing reconnaissance, offensive, and mine-detection missions. He outlined its principal features: 

Speed and Effectiveness: Capable of inexceeding 5 knots, allowing rapid maneuverability and precision strikes.

Stealth: Able to dive hundreds of meters deep and evade advanced radar and detection systems, making it highly effective in intelligence operations.

The coastal defense commander stressed that the Al-Qari‘a marks a turning point in Yemen’s ability to deter maritime threats, reshaping security dynamics in the Red Sea and broader regional waters. He added that these new capabilities strengthen Sana’a’s hand in any future negotiations on regional security and send “a clear message to the United States and the temporary Zionist entity that even more advanced and lethal surprises await them.”

Since the escalation of the US-Saudi-led war on Yemen in 2015, Sana’a has increasingly relied on indigenous military innovations to offset the technological superiority of its adversaries. In recent years, Yemen’s Armed Forces have unveiled advanced drones, ballistic missiles, and naval systems, forcing Washington and the Israeli enemy to admit that the conflict has dramatically altered regional security calculations. 

The introduction of the Al-Qari‘a submarine underscores Yemen’s growing ability to challenge foreign military presence in the Red Sea, a vital maritime corridor for global trade and oil shipments.