Houthis recover STM Kargu loitering munitions

A still from the video released on 21 October shows a Houthi fighter inserting the battery pack into the remnants of an STM Kargu loitering munition that still has its warhead fitted. (Ansar Allah)

The armed wing of Ansar Allah, the Yemeni group popularly known as the Houthis, released a video on 21 October showing that Turkish-made loitering munitions are now being used in Yemen.

Released to show attacks on Saudi-backed forces east of Raghwan in Yemen's Marib governorate, the video included footage of recovered unmanned quadcopters that included commercial models made by the Chinese company DJI and at least two larger ones that could be identified as the Kargu loitering munition made by the Turkish company STM.

One of the Kargus was still fitted with its distinctive directional fragmentation warhead and had a component labelled as a product of Taoglas, an Irish company that specialises in compact antennas. Another Kargu appeared to be set up to carry the new armour-piercing warhead, although this was not seen in the video.

The use of Kargus has been documented during recent conflicts in Azerbaijan, Libya, and Syria, but has not previously been recorded in Yemen.

STM says the loitering munition weighs 7.7 kg with a warhead fitted, has a range of 6.5 km with its standard internal antenna, and an endurance of up to 30 minutes. The Kargu is also advertised as having a swarm capability where multiple munitions can work together to autonomously identify and track targets.

For more, please see: Kargu loitering munition used in Azerbaijan exercise