Houthis used AI platform Claude to develop ballistic missiles

Houthis used AI platform Claude to develop ballistic missiles Submitted by Sean Mathews on Fri, 09/11/2026 - 17:20 Anthropic said its programme was used by a group in northern Yemen to build guidance, control and navigation systems Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities march during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa, Yemen, on 10 September 2026 (Mohammed Huwais/AFP) Off A group in Yemen attempted to use Anthropic's Claude AI to build guidance, control and navigation systems for ballistic missiles, the US company has said.

In a report published on Thursday on how it had prevented illegal uses of Claude in several countries, Anthropic said it had "identified a cell of threat actors based in northern Yemen running three weapons development programs".

Northern Yemen is the seat of the Houthis, who control Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

This week, the Houthis launched a lightning offensive that has routed forces loyal to Saudi Arabia and Yemen's internationally recognised government based in the port city of Aden.

As a result of their offensive, the Houthis now control a wide swath of the Arabian Gulf's Red Sea coast, including strategic islands and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a global shipping chokepoint that borders Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen.

The development programme included "a guided rocket that used a commodity phone-class flight computer with final-phase homing guidance; a multi-stage ballistic missile with a stated range goal above 2,000 kilometres; and a multi-variant missile...

that included a hypersonic glide vehicle variant". The group used Claude to develop software for the weapons that would have otherwise required a team of engineers.

Houthis eye 'full control' of Bab el-Mandeb, as Saudi-backed forces reel from offensive Read More » "We do not have evidence the actors succeeded in fielding an operational device; but they did test-fire a guided rocket," Anthropic said.

"This field test appears to have failed: within hours, the actors returned to Claude to work out why it failed. " Anthropic said it had banned the relevant accounts as soon as it had detected the illegal activity.

The Houthis have received arms and training from Iran. They have also received military assistance from Russia, Middle East Eye revealed in a previous report.

But the Houthis also prize their independence and have a domestic industry focused on bolstering their military and intelligence capabilities.

When they began attacking ships in the Red Sea in what they said was in solidarity with besieged Palestinians in Gaza, following Israel's invasion of the enclave in 2023, the Houthis turned to commercial shipping data to target vessels affiliated with Israel and the US, MEE reported.

Yemen War News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0