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The Samad ( ar, صماد) (also spelled Sammad) is a family of long-range
UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s 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 The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist, Islamist political and armed move ...
in the
Yemeni civil war Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen: *Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948 *Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60 *North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70 *Aden Emergency, 1963–67 *South Yemen#Di ...
, where the drone's long range is used to strike targets in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.


Etymology

The UAV was named after Houthi leader Saleh al-Sammad, who was assassinated by the United Arab Emirates 2018.


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 takeoff and landing. The Houthis say they have designed and manufactured the Samad family of drones. They say that the Samad 1 was designed in 2018 and the Samad Samad 2 and Samad 3 in 2019. Independent analysts say the Samad-2 is probably of Iranian origin. eeds better sourceAccording 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. The Samad-1 is the base variant. It has a wingspan of approximately 3.5 meters. It has a range of 500 km and is for surveillance. 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 German or Chinese pusher-engine. 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, like the Samad-2. According to the Houthis, it has a range of 1,500 km and carries an explosive payload. Qualitatively, the Samad-3 is described as "inexpensive, small, slow and clumsy" and unlikely to strike targets with good accuracy.


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. Analysis by Jeremy Binnie of
Jane's Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informatio ...
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. The UAE denied there was any drone attack on the airport. 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 Dubai International Airport ( ar, مطار دبي الدولي) is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic. It is also the nineteenth-busies ...
, all which were denied and unverified. An investigation by
Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014 ...
, 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". The Houthi military spokesman said used Samad 3 drones, at the
Abqaiq–Khurais attack On 14 September 2019, drones were used to attack oil processing facilities at Abqaiq ( ar, بقيق, translit=Buqaiq) and Khurais () in eastern Saudi Arabia. The facilities were operated by Saudi Aramco, the country's state-owned oil compa ...
on 14 September 2019.


Operators

*
Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
– Samad-1 (according to two bloggers, Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans) * – Samad-1, Samad-2, and Samad-3 * –
IRGC The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
, Samad-1 (according to the above bloggers.)


Specifications (Samad-2 / UAV-X)


References


External links

{{Commons category Unmanned military aircraft