Report: Chinese Satellites Feed Houthis Target Ship Data

U.S. officials are asserting that Chinese companies are providing support to the Houthi militants in Yemen with their attacks on Western shipping. The Financial Times is quoting a senior U.S. State Department official who says the Houthis have been receiving Chinese satellite data in addition to support from Iran for the attacks that started in late 2023 and targeted more than 100 merchant ships.

It was previously well understood that the Houthis were receiving targeting data for their missile and drone attacks on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea from both Russia and Iran, with IRGC Qods Force operatives based in Yemen acting as the conduit. The Iranian Khayyam satellite was jointly built with Russia, based on Kanopus-V imagery satellite, with the Iranian satellite likely to be operating within Russia’s own Kanopus-V constellation. The Iranians and Russians are likely to share most of the output of this combined constellation. Supplementing the satellite imagery data, the Iranians would have added in their own intelligence feeds from IRGC spy ships and regular Iranian Navy ships operating in the area, prior to these vessels being withdrawn from the area several months ago.

A senior State Department official in Washington briefed the Financial Times that the Chinese company Chang Guang Satellite Technology, a commercial entity owned by or with close links to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, has also been feeding targeting data to the Houthis. Chang Guang Satellite is reported to have had 100 mini-satellites in orbit in 2024, a figure which was planned to rise to 300 by the end of 2025. With such a constellation, a 10-minute refresh time would be feasible for any point in the target area.

The Financial Times report was unclear whether raw imagery was being passed to the Houthis, or whether processed information was shared either as intelligence or in the form of targeting packs. Chinese military standard communications equipment that would enable such transmission has regularly been seized in the same consignments of arms and ammunition dispatched by the IRGC Qods Force to the Houthis but intercepted at sea by Coalition naval forces. With the reported withdrawal of IRGC Qods Force embeds in the Houthi command and control structure, in the face of targeted US attacks, there will be even greater emphasis on building data links to support the Houthis remotely as the American attacks continue, destroying and degrading the Houthis’ existing communications networks.

On January 28, US Coast Guard Cutter U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr (WPC 1147) seized a consignment en route to the Houthis which included Chinese military-grade communication and network equipment (CENTCOM)

The unnamed senior State Department official briefing the Financial Times was supported by Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokeswoman, who was quoted on the record as confirming that Chang Guang Satellite Technology was “directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on US interests”. The feed of information from the State Department as opposed to the Defense Department suggests that the Chinese behavior is being considered as a factor in broader discussions with China on matters of tariff and trade.

Surveillance carried out by the Chinese satellites may also enable the Chinese to warn off the Houthis from attacking Chinese ships as they transit the area. Chinese vessels are still regularly using the Gulf of Aden to Suez Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor, giving them a simple commercial advantage over shipping lines obliged by Houthi attacks to take the long way between Asia and Europe around the Cape of Good Hope.