Mysterious Airfield Near Houthi Hot Zone Gets First Aircraft

 

The runway at the mystery airfield on the Yemeni island of Abd Al Kuri remains enigmatically incomplete, with the gap at the northern end of the runway still extant as of January 22, 2025. However, the airfield may have had its first visiting aircraft. Early on January 17, what appears to be a medium-sized winged aircraft was parked on the apron in front of the small terminal building.  It was aligned with nose wheel guidelines for parking aircraft. 

With a wingspan of approximately 25 meters, if it was an aircraft it was not a C-17 or C-130, but bigger than a Twin Otter. It could possibly be a C-295 short take-off and landing aircraft used both for transport and maritime surveillance missions, for which the 1800 meters of completed runway would have been more than sufficient. Higher resolution satellite imagery will no doubt provide a more reliable answer on aircraft activity in due course.

Although the Gaza ceasefire has generated a statement from the Houthis that in the future, they will restrict their attacks on shipping to vessels that are either Israeli-flagged or owned, tensions remain high in the area while the true intentions of the Houthis become clear. The larger shipping companies in particular are likely to be cautious about re-routing vessels through the Suez Canal until the situation in Gaza becomes clearer. But recent air strikes on Houthi infrastructure have been significantly more damaging than attacks last year, and the ceasefire may have provided an off-ramp for the Houthis, which they were likely seeking.

Western countries appear to be taking no chances. The latest assessed plot of naval forces present in the region shows a heavy presence of naval vessels in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor to the north of Abd Al Kuri and Socotra. The Commander US Navy Central Command has also confirmed that the Iranian IRGC spy ship MV Behshad has also returned to the Gulf of Aden area, escorted by IRINS Alborz (F-72) and IRINS Bushehr (422) from the Iranian Navy’s 100th Naval Flotilla.