The evolution of the Houthi weapons arsenal and its implications for maritime security and cargo shipping in the Red Sea

This article examines how the Yemeni Houthi movement transformed its missile, drone, and maritime capabilities into a source of regional instability and economic disruption in the Bab al-Mandab area. Rather than reconstructing the Yemeni war, it analyzes the development of the Houthi arsenal since the 2015 regionalization of the conflict and its intensified use following October 2023. It also explores the institutional dimension of the crisis by examining the limited role of the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in responding to disruptions affecting the maritime corridor. The study combines qualitative security analysis, open-source intelligence, and trade data to classify Houthi weapon systems and assess their impact on Red Sea shipping. The article finds that the Houthi threat operates less as a classical blockade than as a mechanism of risk creation. By exploiting a strategic chokepoint, the movement has turned limited military capabilities into measurable economic pressure on global trade, and by creating persistent risk, it can influence shipping routes, insurance costs, freight rates, and supply-chain decisions, which finally enabled it to produce effects disproportionate to its conventional military power. The article contributes to debates on asymmetric warfare, maritime security, and the economic vulnerability of strategic chokepoints.