Samad (UAV)

The UAV was named after Houthi leader Saleh al-Sammad, who was killed by the UAE in 2018. == Design ==

The Samad is available in three models. All models have distinctive V-shaped tail fins and a pusher engine. Samad UAVs have a ventral protrusion and wing skids, which they use for taking off and landing. The Houthis say they have designed and manufactured the Samad family of drones. They say that the Samad 1 was designed in 2018 and the Samad Samad 2 and Samad 3 in 2019. According to James Rogers, of the Center for War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark, the Samad 3 is believed to be supplied by Iran. The Samad-1 is the base variant. It has a wingspan of approximately 3.5 meters. It has a range of 500 km and is for surveillance. The Samad-2 is 2.8 meters long and has a wingspan of 4.5 meters. It has distinctive V-shaped tail fins and is powered by a rear-mounted 3W German 3W110i B2 or Chinese pusher-engine DLE 170. Qualitatively, the Samad-3 is described as "inexpensive, small, slow and clumsy" and unlikely to strike targets with good accuracy. == Operational history ==

The Houthis have operated Samad UAVs since at least August 2018. Analysis by Jeremy Binnie of Jane's of footage released by the Houthis of the attack says it is consistent with a Samad-2 or Samad-3, or also a different drone, the Hudhud 1. The UAE denied there was any drone attack on the airport. Two other alleged claims on a drone attack on the airport were reported by the Houthis, as well as two attacks on Dubai International Airport, all which were denied and unverified. An investigation by Bellingcat, published months before video of the attack was released, said "It is highly likely that a Houthi-led drone attack did not take place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai". On the morning of 18 May 2021, during 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, the IDF downed an Iranian Samad UAV, which was launched from Iraq and entered Emek HaMaayano, apparently from Syria or Lebanon. On 29 November 2023, USS Carney, a US Navy destroyer, downed a Samad-3 (KAS-04), which was launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen and was heading toward the warship in the southern Red Sea. USS Carney was escorting the Military Sealift Command USNS Supply, and another U.S. flagged ship carrying military equipment to the region. On 19 July 2024, a Samad-3 launched by the Houthi government struck Tel Aviv at 3:12 a.m., killing a man and injuring ten others. The Houthi government claimed it had launched a drone that could bypass radar detection systems, whereas the Israeli military claimed that the drone had been identified, but no action was taken due to human error. ==Operators==

• – Samad-1 • – IRGC, Samad-1 == Specifications (Samad-2 / UAV-X)==