Samad (UAV)
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name = Samad | image = Samad-1 UAV in flight.jpg | caption = This drone has been identified by some as a Samad-1 in flight.{{Cite web|url=http://spioenkop.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-oryx-handbook-of-iranian-drones.html|title=The Oryx Handbook of Iranian Drones|author1= Stijn Mitzer |author2=Joost Oliemans|date=September 2019}}{{sps|certain=y|reason=This is a blog|date=December 2024}} | alt = }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type = reconnaissance/loitering munition | national origin = Iran / Yemen | manufacturer = Yemen | design group = | designer = | first flight = Unknown, at least since August 2018 | introduced = | retired = | status = In service | primary user = Houthi movement | more users = {{ubli|Iranian Armed Forces (alleged)|Hezbollah (alleged) }} | produced = | number built = | program cost = | unit cost = }} |
The Samad ({{langx|ar|صماد}}) (also spelled Sammad) is a family of long-range UAVs of unidentified origin used in the Middle East. The Samad is available in three variants: The Samad-1, the Samad-2 (also known as "UAV-X"), and the Samad-3. The Samad family of UAVs is primarily used by the Houthi movement in the Yemeni civil war, where the drone's long range is used to strike targets in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the UAE.
Etymology
The UAV was named after Houthi leader Saleh al-Sammad, who was killed by the UAE in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://arabi21.com/story/1111660/تعرف-على-طائرة-صماد-3-التي-قصفت-مطار-أبو-ظبي|title=تعرف على طائرة "صمّاد 3" التي قصفت مطار أبو ظبي|date=2018-07-26|website=عربي21|language=ar|access-date=2019-09-28}}
Design
The Samad is available in three models. All models have distinctive V-shaped tail fins and a pusher engine. Samad UAVs have a ventral protrusion and wing skids, which they use for taking off and landing.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/JeremyBinnie/status/1148969766851420160|title=They take off and land on their ventral protrusions and wing skids|first=Jeremy|last=Binnie|date=July 10, 2019}}
The Houthis say they have designed and manufactured the Samad family of drones. They say that the Samad 1 was designed in 2018{{Cite web|url=http://studies.aljazeera.net/ar/reports/2019/05/190530074750193.html|title=الطائرات دون طيار: التقنية والأثر العسكري والاستراتيجي|website=studies.aljazeera.net}} and the Samad Samad 2 and Samad 3 in 2019. Independent analysts say the Samad-2 is probably of Iranian origin.[needs better source]{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/28204/saudi-oil-attack-points-to-more-advanced-iranian-missiles-and-drones|title=Saudi Oil Attack Points to More Advanced Iranian Missiles and Drones|website=www.worldpoliticsreview.com|date=September 20, 2019|author=Shahryar Pasandideh}} According to James Rogers, of the Center for War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark, the Samad 3 is believed to be supplied by Iran.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/DrJamesRogers/status/1173532333229654017|title=4/6 Distance is an issue here & gives the perpetrators (whoever they may be) a certain amount of deniability. Take the Samad 3 for example. Believed to be supplied by Iran, it has the ability to reach 1450km & strike deep within the UAE & SA. This distance leads to deniability|first=James|last=Rogers|date=September 16, 2019}}
The Samad-1 is the base variant. It has a wingspan of approximately 3.5 meters.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/JeremyBinnie/status/1148255599731384320|title=My crude dimensional analysis based on the first photo indicates the Sammad-3 has roughly the same wingspan (4.5m) as the 'UAV-X' recovered in Saudi Arabia & UAE, the Sammad-1 thus being closer to 3.5m. The UAV-X in third photo lacks the 'wing box bulge', so might be a Sammad-2.|first=Jeremy|last=Binnie|date=July 8, 2019}} It has a range of 500 km and is for surveillance.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/JeremyBinnie/status/1148968924056367104|title=Houthi video says the Sammad-3 has a 1,500km range (fits with estimated range of UAV-X) and carries an explosive warhead. Sammad-1 has 500km range and is for surveillance|first=Jeremy|last=Binnie|date=July 10, 2019}}
The Samad-2 is 2.8 meters long and has a wingspan of 4.5 meters. It has distinctive V-shaped tail fins and is powered by a rear-mounted 3W German 3W110i B2{{Cite web |title=3W-110i B2 CS – 3W Modellmotoren |url=https://3w-modellmotoren.de/produkt/3w-110i-b2-cs/?lang=en |access-date=2023-12-03 |language=en-US}} or Chinese pusher-engine DLE 170.{{Cite web |title=DLE170 V2 Power 3D |url=https://www.dl-motoren.de/artikeldetails.php?aid=205 |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=www.dl-motoren.de}} It is also known as the "UAV-X", the provisional designation given to it in a UN report. The Samad-2 can carry either a reconnaissance or an explosive payload. The reconnaissance version carries a camera, a Nikon D810 digital camera in one model. The attack variant has a warhead of 18 kg of explosives mixed with ball bearings.
The Samad-3 is an "extended-range" version with a conformal fuel tank mounted on the top of the drone. The dimensions are estimated at 4.5m wingspan and a length of 2.80 m , like the Samad-2. According to the Houthis, it has a range of 1,500 km and carries an explosive payload. According to Mark Voskuijl et all Samad-3 flight range is about 1800 km.{{Cite journal |last1=Voskuijl |first1=Mark |last2=Dekkers |first2=Thomas |last3=Savelsberg |first3=Ralph |date=2020-09-01 |title=Flight Performance Analysis of the Samad Attack Drones Operated by Houthi Armed Forces |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08929882.2020.1846279 |journal=Science & Global Security |language=en |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=113–134 |doi=10.1080/08929882.2020.1846279 |bibcode=2020S&GS...28..113V |issn=0892-9882|url-access=subscription }} Qualitatively, the Samad-3 is described as "inexpensive, small, slow and clumsy" and unlikely to strike targets with good accuracy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/16/world/middleeast/trump-saudi-arabia-oil-attack.html|title=Who Was Behind the Saudi Oil Attack? What the Evidence Shows|first1=David D.|last1=Kirkpatrick|first2=Christoph|last2=Koettl|first3=Allison|last3=McCann|first4=Eric|last4=Schmitt|first5=Anjali|last5=Singhvi|first6=Gus|last6=Wezerek|date=September 16, 2019|work=The New York Times}}
Operational history
The Houthis have operated Samad UAVs since at least August 2018.
The Houthis say a Samad-3 UAV was used to attack Abu Dhabi international airport on 26 July 2018.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.janes.com/article/88759/video-confirms-yemeni-attack-on-abu-dhabi-s-airport-in-2018|title=Video confirms Yemeni attack on Abu Dhabi's airport in 2018 |publisher=IHS Jane's 360|journal=Jane's Defence Weekly|first1=Jeremy|last1=Binnie|date=24 May 2019}} Analysis by Jeremy Binnie of Jane's of footage released by the Houthis of the attack says it is consistent with a Samad-2 or Samad-3, or also a different drone, the Hudhud 1.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/JeremyBinnie/status/1131908677018050560|title=Looking at the shadow in the footage of the 26 July 2018 attack on Abu Dhabi IAP, the attack UAV could be the suspected Samad-2/3 documented by the UN panel of experts|first=Jeremy|last=Binnie|date=May 24, 2019}} The UAE denied there was any drone attack on the airport.{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/yemen-rebels-attack-abu-dhabi-airport-drone-180726155103669.html |title=Yemen's rebels 'attack' Abu Dhabi airport using a drone | Yemen News |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=2018-07-27 |access-date=2019-08-12}} Two other alleged claims on a drone attack on the airport were reported by the Houthis, as well as two attacks on Dubai International Airport, all which were denied and unverified. An investigation by Bellingcat, published months before video of the attack was released, said "It is highly likely that a Houthi-led drone attack did not take place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai".[https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/11/07/investigating-houthi-claims-drone-attacks-uae-airports/ Investigating Houthi Claims of Drone Attacks on UAE Airports] Bellingcat, 7 Nov. 2018, retrieved 7 June 2019.
On the morning of 18 May 2021, during 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, the IDF downed an Iranian Samad UAV, which was launched from Iraq and entered Emek HaMaayano, apparently from Syria or Lebanon.{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |date=7 March 2022 |title=IDF airs footage of drone interceptions, accuses Iran of escalating 'UAV terror' |website=The Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-airs-footage-of-drone-interceptions-accuses-iran-of-escalating-uav-terror/ }}
{{Cite web |last=כץ |first=אודם |date=7 March 2022 |title=כך יירט צה"ל את המל"טים האיראניים בדרכם לישראל |url=https://www.idf.il/51013/ |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=IDF |language=HE}}
{{Cite news |last1=זיתון |first1=יואב |last2=ראב"ד |first2=אחיה |last3=אוסמו |first3=ליעד |date=2021-05-18 |title=הופל מל"ט שחדר לבקעת הירדן, אזעקה בדרום אחרי 6 שעות של שקט |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/rJVBoCgF00 |access-date=2024-08-04 |work=Ynet |language=he}}
{{Cite web |title=נתניהו חשף: "איראן שלחה מל"ט חמוש לתוך ישראל" |url=https://www.srugim.co.il/563802-%d7%a0%d7%aa%d7%a0%d7%99%d7%94%d7%95-%d7%97%d7%a9%d7%a3-%d7%90%d7%99%d7%a8%d7%90%d7%9f-%d7%a9%d7%9c%d7%97%d7%94-%d7%9e%d7%9c%d7%98-%d7%97%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%a9-%d7%9c%d7%aa%d7%95%d7%9a-%d7%99%d7%a9 |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=סרוגים |language=HE}}
On 29 November 2023, USS Carney, a US Navy destroyer, downed a Samad-3 (KAS-04), which was launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen and was heading toward the warship in the southern Red Sea.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-01 |title=USS Carney Shot Down an Iranian KAS-04 Drone, Says CENTCOM - USNI News |url=https://news.usni.org/2023/11/30/uss-carney-shot-down-an-iranian-kas-04-drone-says-centcom |access-date=2023-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201101945/https://news.usni.org/2023/11/30/uss-carney-shot-down-an-iranian-kas-04-drone-says-centcom |archive-date=2023-12-01 }} USS Carney was escorting the Military Sealift Command USNS Supply, and another U.S. flagged ship carrying military equipment to the region.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-03 |title=US carrier group in Mideast intercepts Iranian-produced drone |url=https://salinapost.com/posts/905b22b8-2fe6-444b-b789-3ef9f75f185b |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=Salina Post}}{{Cite web |title=Interview: Inside the Houthi arsenal that can reach Israel |url=https://amwaj.media/media-monitor/interview-inside-the-houthi-arsenal-that-can-reach-israel |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=Amwaj.media |language=en}}
On 19 July 2024, a Samad-3 launched by the Houthi government struck Tel Aviv at 3:12 a.m., killing a man and injuring ten others. The Houthi government claimed it had launched a drone that could bypass radar detection systems, whereas the Israeli military claimed that the drone had been identified, but no action was taken due to human error.[https://www.timesofisrael.com/explosive-drone-hits-tel-aviv-apartment-killing-man-and-wounding-several-others/ Explosive drone from Yemen hits Tel Aviv apartment, killing man, wounding others] Times of Israel, 19 July 2024, retrieved 19 July 2024.[https://www.timesofisrael.com/yevgeny-ferder-50-named-as-victim-of-houthi-drone-attack-on-tel-aviv/ Yevgeny Ferder, 50, named as victim of Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv] Times of Israel, 19 July 2024, retrieved 19 July 2024.
Operators
- {{flagicon image|InfoboxHez.PNG}} Hezbollah– Samad-1 (according to Oryxspioenkop)
- {{flag|Houthis}} – Samad-1, Samad-2, and Samad-3{{Cite web|url=http://spioenkop.blogspot.com/2019/09/list-of-iranian-arms-and-equipment.html|title=List of Iranian Arms and Equipment Supplied to Houthi Militants in Yemen since 2015|author1= Stijn Mitzer |author2=Joost Oliemans|date=September 2019}}
- {{IRN}} – IRGC, Samad-1 (according to the above bloggers.)
- Kata'ib Hezbollah (probable){{cite web|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/kataib-hezbollah-leads-drone-warfare-inside-iraq|author1= Michael Knights|author2=Crispin Smith|date=May 14, 2021|title= Kataib Hezbollah Leads Drone Warfare Inside Iraq |work=washingtoninstitute.org}}
Specifications (Samad-2 / UAV-X)
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References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}