SANAA (Dispatches) -- Yemeni armed forces have unveiled a new domestically-developed autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to enhance their combat capabilities in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The new homegrown achievement, dubbed Al-Qari’a (Calamity), was showcased during a naval exercise in the Red Sea.
The new suicide AUV would strengthen Yemen’s military might in the face of maritime security threats, and will help the country better safeguard its territorial waters.
It will also enable Yemeni naval units to carry out more precise operations. The unveiling of the autonomous underwater vehicle clearly sends a strong political and military message to enemies that Yemeni forces would not hesitate to respond to any act of aggression in the future.
Months ago, Yemeni armed forces seized a U.S. Navy’s REMUS 600 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) off the coast of Yemen.
According to some reports, the device was being studied by Yemeni military experts and engineers. 
The midsized REMUS 600 can travel at speeds of up to 5 knots (9.3 km/h) and has an endurance of up to 70 hours at its standard cruising speed of 3 knots (5.6 km/h).
Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the Zionist regime launched a devastating war on Gaza in October 2023.
The Yemeni armed forces have said they will not stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza end.
A vessel reported two explosions near a ship travelling 14 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Al Dhubab, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Monday.
The report followed statements by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which said it had received information about two explosions related to an incident 25 nautical miles south of Yemen’s port of Mokha.  
The attack probably marks the end of an 18-day lull in reported assaults attributed to the Yemenis who have been targeting Israeli-linked ships traveling through the Red Sea corridor for nearly a year now with the aim of forcing the Zionist regime to stop its genocide in the Gaza Strip. 
The vessel passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Peninsula from East Africa, reported the attack, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.
Yemeni forces did not immediately claim the attack. However, it can take hours or even days before they acknowledge their operations. 
The last Yemeni operation came Oct. 10, targeting the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker Olympic Spirit.On Oct. 17, the U.S. military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target Yemen.
Yemeni forces have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israeli war on Gaza started in October last year. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign which also killed four sailors.  
The Yemeni forces maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the UK to force an end to Israel’s aggression.  
Yemen’s armed forces have shot down multiple American MQ-9 Reaper drones as well.