The fear of the Saudis from the small Yemeni bird/ know the most frightening weapon of Ansarullah
Unlike sophisticated missiles, the Samad and Qasef UAVs have a simple design and mainly use commercial engines available in the market, which makes their mass production possible inside Yemen.
According to Ambassador Arjan, a multi-rotor or multi-propeller bird is a type of unmanned bird (drone) that uses several propellers to fly. These birds are in the category of vertical flying aircraft (VTOL) and have the ability to take off and land vertically. The basis of their work is based on changing the rotation speed of the propellers; By increasing or decreasing the speed of each propeller independently, the bird can move, turn or stay still in the air.
The most common type of multirotor is the quadrotor (four-propeller bird), but there are other configurations such as the hexacopter (six propellers) and the octocopter (eight propellers). The main advantages of these birds include vertical take-off and landing, the ability to stay in the air and their relatively simple structure; However, the limited flight time and lower cargo carrying capacity than helicopters are among their disadvantages.
Ansarullah drone arsenal: from "Qasif" to "Samad"
Over the past decade, Yemen's Ansarullah forces have been able to develop a diverse arsenal of drones that form the backbone of their military strategy against the Saudi-led coalition. Some of these drones are of multi-rotor type that have been able to shine brightly in the recent war with Saudi Arabia and its mercenaries and cause a lot of damage to the Saudis.
Some of the most important drones in Yemen (including multi-rotors and others) are as follows:
A. "Qasif" family: one-way offensive drones whose design is closely similar to the Iranian "Ababil" drone and can carry an explosive warhead weighing about 30 kg. Qasif-2K is the most advanced version of this family, whose operational range reaches more than 120 km.
b. "Samad" family: four models of this drone have been produced so far. Samad-1 is mainly used in the reconnaissance role, while Samad-2 and especially Samad-3 are known as long-range attack drones. The most prominent model of this family is the Samad-3, which has a declared range of about 1,500 kilometers and can carry an explosive warhead weighing about 18 kilograms. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Samad-3 (with the American designation KAS-04) has an operational range of more than 1,600 kilometers.
c. "Rojoom" UAV: Ansarullah's latest achievement is a six-bladed UAV (hexacopter) with a large electric motor, advanced control systems and high-precision day and night optical cameras. This drone, which has been under development since February 2017, is capable of carrying and releasing small bombs and can be used against tanks and armored vehicles of Saudi-affiliated forces.
d. Shawaz UAV: According to published reports, Shawaz UAV is a new and locally made Yemeni tactical weapon developed by Sana'a Armed Forces (Ansarullah) and entered operational service for the first time in October 2026 in the southwestern fronts of Yemen.
Showaz is included in the category of suicide drones (kamikaze) and FPV; That is, a bird that is guided by a remote operator and explodes upon hitting the target. Its most important distinguishing feature is the use of optical fiber cable to connect with the controller.
This cable transmits commands and live image instead of wireless signal. The result of this design is complete immunity against electronic warfare and jamming; Because without a radio signal, enemy jamming systems cannot disrupt or intercept it.
"Saturation" strategy: How do drones challenge Saudi Arabia's defense?
Realizing the technical and numerical superiority of the Saudi coalition, Ansarullah has adopted the asymmetric strategy of "defense saturation". According to the report of the Financial Times, the Yemeni forces will first fly the Samad-2 and Samad-3 long-range drones to identify the coverage radius of the Saudi interception systems. After this stage, the cruise missiles fly at a low altitude and change their course, which makes them difficult to detect and intercept.
In the recent attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, this strategy was clearly executed: Ansarullah first flew groups of drones to disrupt the Saudi radar system, and then fired cruise and ballistic missiles at the airport. An anonymous Saudi official confirmed that some of Ansarullah's missiles have advanced technology that allows them to change course in flight, and this issue has created a serious challenge for the American "Patriot" defense systems.
In the meantime, multi-rotor drones play a special role in the implementation of operations. These drones are highly used in close operations, targeting the enemy's armored weapons and especially their gatherings, and in the recent war, they managed to turn the tide in favor of Ansarullah. Also, these drones are relatively cheap, and for this reason, Ansarullah has and flies them in large numbers and can carry out the saturation operation explained above.
Why is Saudi Arabia's defense ineffective against Yemeni drones?
Over the past years, Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars to purchase advanced air defense systems (including the American "Patriot" and similar European systems). However, Ansarullah's drone attacks frequently pass through these barriers. The main reasons for this inefficiency are:
A. Asymmetric cost: Each Patriot interceptor missile costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, while a suicide drone like the Ghassif might cost only a few thousand dollars. By firing dozens of cheap drones, Ansarullah puts Saudi's expensive defense systems in a "saturation" state.
b. Flying at a low altitude: UAVs fly at a very low altitude, which makes it difficult for ground radars and Patriot systems to detect them.
c. Combined tactics: Ansarullah uses drones along with ballistic and cruise missiles to confuse enemy defenses. According to reports, 75% of drones fired by Ansarullah in the Red Sea are intercepted, compared to only 16% for their missiles.
d. Local production: Unlike complex missiles, Samad and Qasef drones have a simple design and mainly use commercial engines available in the market, which enables their mass production inside Yemen.