TSAMTO, September 18. In an attempt to provide support to pro-government forces in Yemen, the Saudi armed forces used a Chinese short-range ballistic missile, the acquisition of which was not previously known.
According to Jane's Defense Weekly, on the night of September 13-14, videos appeared on social networks showing Yemenis (presumably from the Raghwan area in the northeast of Marib governorate) inspecting a spent rocket engine. In the morning, footage was released showing local residents moving the object.
Initially, a number of observers suggested that the missile was launched by the "Ansar Allah" movement, an Iranian-backed rebel group better known as the Houthis. However, the DF-15A markings are clearly visible on the videos, indicating one of the Chinese short–range ballistic missiles of the Dong-Feng family, which had not previously been seen outside China. There is no information about the supply of Dong-Feng missiles to Iran or Yemen, but it is known that the strategic missile forces of Saudi Arabia demonstrated DF-3 medium-range missiles at parades.
Little is known about the DF-15 (CSS-6 according to the NATO classification) rocket equipped with a solid-fuel engine. A missile threat report published by the U.S. Department of Defense's Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 2017 indicated that the CSS-6 Mod.1 modification (presumably the DF-15A) has a range of 600 km, Mod.2 is more than 850 km, and Mod.3 (identified by DIA as DF-15B) – more than 725 km. According to Jane's, the length of the DF-15A is about 10 m, the diameter is 1 m, and the launch weight is 6.2 tons. It is equipped with a solid-fuel rocket engine, an inertial navigation system with correction based on satellite data. The range of destruction of targets is from 223 to 600 km, the CVO is 45 m.
The photo of the Chinese DF-15A missile shows a conical head, identical or very similar to the one used in Yemen. This distinguishes it from the DF-15B modification, which has a more tapered head with aerodynamic rudders, which are supposed to allow you to adjust the course at the end of the trajectory.
There are suggestions that the Saudi Armed Forces have acquired other types of Chinese-designed ballistic missiles. The basis for the speculation was a photograph published in 2013 in which the command of the strategic Missile Forces showed Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Saud, then Deputy Minister of Defense, a showcase with models of three types of ballistic missiles. The largest mock-up resembled a DF-3 rocket. The other two were presumably different modifications of the DF-15.
According to Jane's Defense Weekly, the detection of the DF-15A rocket engine confirms the presence of a detachable warhead, which is supposed to deliver the warhead to the target. Judging by the approximate location of the engine crash, the launch could have been carried out from the Saudi base "Al-Sulayil" at a target located west of the city of Marib, where fierce fighting has been taking place in recent days.
The use of a ballistic missile looks unusual, since armed forces with combat-ready aircraft, as a rule, reserve weapons of this type for purposes protected by air defense systems. Despite the fact that the "Ansar Allah" movement has shot down many UAVs over the years, the multirole fighters of the Saudi Armed Forces operate relatively unhindered in the airspace of Yemen. One such aircraft is capable of carrying a significantly higher combat load than the DF-15A ballistic missile.
