New type of unmanned bomb boat found by Yemeni government forces

Yemeni pro-government forces chanced upon a new type of unmanned explosives-laden boat off the country’s Red Sea coast earlier this month.

The Fifth Military Region of the Armed Forces of Yemen disclosed on September 8 that one of its naval patrol vessels came across a booby-trapped bomb boat in the waters off Al-Fasht Island near Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia.

The unmanned boat is believed to belong to the Houthi militia.

It had a 149kW outboard engine, a steering wheel, wooden boxes full of explosives, and a low profile that makes it difficult to detect in the water.

The boat was found by Yemeni pro-government forces that were conducting deterrent patrols of the area after having received intelligence about an impending Houthi attack.