Samad

The Samad (Arabic: صماد, also spelled Sammad) is a family of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles of disputed origin operated in the Middle East, principally by the Houthi movement in the Yemeni civil war. Built in reconnaissance and one-way attack configurations, it has been used against targets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. The type is named after Houthi leader Saleh al-Sammad, killed in a UAE strike in 2018, and has been in use since at least August 2018.

Development

The Houthis state that they designed and manufactured the family, with the Samad-1 dating from 2018 and the Samad-2 and Samad-3 from 2019. Independent analysts dispute this: the Samad-2 is assessed as probably of Iranian origin, and analysts at the University of Southern Denmark's Center for War Studies hold that the Samad-3 is supplied by Iran. A UN Panel of Experts on Yemen examined recovered airframes and applied the provisional designation "UAV-X" to the Samad-2, which remains the basis for published specifications.

Design

All three models share V-shaped tail fins and a rear-mounted pusher engine, with a ventral protrusion and wing skids used for take-off and landing. The Samad-1 has a wingspan of about 3.5 m and a range of 500 km in the surveillance role. The Samad-2 is 2.80 m long with a 4.50 m wingspan and is powered by a German 3W110i B2 or Chinese DLE 170 engine, giving 200–250 km/h and an estimated ferry range of 1,200–1,500 km. Reconnaissance airframes carry a camera, in one recovered example a Nikon D810. The Samad-3 adds a conformal fuel tank on the upper fuselage while retaining the dimensions of the Samad-2; the Houthis claim 1,500 km range, and a peer-reviewed flight-performance study estimates about 1,800 km. The Samad-3 has been characterised as inexpensive, small, slow and unlikely to strike targets accurately.

Armament

The Samad-2 attack variant carries an 18 kg warhead of explosives mixed with ball bearings in place of the reconnaissance payload. The Samad-3 likewise carries an explosive payload, the aircraft itself serving as the delivery vehicle.

Operational History

The Houthis claimed a Samad-3 attack on Abu Dhabi International Airport on 26 July 2018; a Janes analyst assessed released footage as consistent with a Samad-2, Samad-3 or the separate Hudhud 1, while the UAE denied any attack occurred. Two further claimed strikes on Abu Dhabi and two on Dubai International Airport were also denied and unverified, and a Bellingcat investigation concluded a Houthi drone attack on the two airports highly likely did not take place. On 18 May 2021 the IDF downed a Samad launched from Iraq that entered Israeli airspace apparently via Syria or Lebanon. On 29 November 2023 the destroyer USS Carney shot down a Samad-3 (KAS-04) over the southern Red Sea while escorting USNS Supply. On 19 July 2024 a Samad-3 struck Tel Aviv at 3:12 a.m., killing one man and injuring ten; the Israeli military stated the drone had been detected but that human error prevented engagement. Reported operators include the Houthis (all three variants), Hezbollah and the IRGC (Samad-1), and probably Kata'ib Hezbollah.

Variants

• Samad-1: Base surveillance model with a wingspan of approximately 3.5 m and 500 km range.
• Samad-2 (UAV-X): 2.80 m long, 4.50 m span, fitted with either a reconnaissance camera or an 18 kg fragmentation warhead.
• Samad-3 (KAS-04): Extended-range one-way attack version with a dorsal conformal fuel tank and claimed range of 1,500 km.