Missile Quds-1

The Quds-1, designated "351" by the US government, is a ground-launched land-attack cruise missile operated by the Houthi movement in Yemen. It belongs to the Quds family of cruise missiles. The Houthis claim to have developed it domestically. A 2020 UN Panel of Experts report presented evidence that its components were manufactured in Iran. Iran Watch states that Quds-1 is the Houthi name for the Iranian Paveh cruise missile and that the two are visually identical. The Houthis first displayed a "Quds cruise missile" publicly in July 2019, alongside a range of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

Analysts have compared the Quds-1 to the Iranian Soumar and the Russian Kh-55, and it may be derived from one of them. It is smaller than the Soumar and has a much shorter range, because it has less internal fuel volume and is ground-launched rather than air-launched. It also differs from the Soumar in:

• the booster design
• the wing position and the use of fixed wings
• the nose cone and aft fuselage shape
• the stabilizer placement
• the engine cover and exhaust shape

Compared with the Iranian Ya Ali, the Quds-1 is shorter, has differently shaped wings and fins, and uses a smaller rocket booster. Its engine is mounted on top of the fuselage rather than internally.

The Quds-1 uses a solid rocket booster for ground launch and then cruises on a turbojet. The engine is an unlicensed copy of the Czech TJ100 turbojet and has been associated with the Iranian Toloue-10 and Toloue-13 designations. Guidance is by a TERCOM (terrain contour matching) navigation system.

The Houthi movement is the only confirmed operator. The Houthis list July 2019 as the missile's service entry date. The fins on the missile displayed that month resembled those on the missile used in the June 2019 attack on Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia.

Several successor variants have appeared:

• Quds-2: Reported to have higher speed and longer range than the Quds-1. In June 2024, Iraqi police in Babil province found and photographed a Quds-2 that had failed to launch, which established that Iran-backed militias in Iraq possessed the type.
• Quds-3: Shown at a Houthi military parade in Sanaa in 2022.