Source: AMN screen grab
Source: AMN screen grab

Iranian-backed Houthi forces have captured what’s described as a US Navy research unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) off the coast of Yemen, according to a local video posted on Monday.

USNI News, in picking up the story, said the video shows four men described as members of the “Houthi Navy” in diving gear surrounded by what appears to be a REMUS 600 UUV with the name “Smokey” printed on the body. According to the AMN News web posting, the Houthis discovered the UUV within the past week somewhere off the coast of Yemen.

The UUV, showing the corporate logos from manufacturer Hydroid and parent company Kongsberg, was a passive system operated by the Navy as part of a meteorological study, according to a US defense official contacted by USNI News on Tuesday.

The Houthi video contends the drone was operated by the Saudi coalition, which has been fighting the Houthi Yemeni separatist group since 2015.

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