Qasef-2K
Country: 
IranManufacturer: UIC / Houthi (clone Ababil-T iraniano)
Houthi loitering munition derived from the Iranian Ababil-T: used in hundreds of attacks against the Saudi coalition and Patriot air defences.
Houthi loitering munition derived from the Iranian Ababil-T: used in hundreds of attacks against the Saudi coalition and Patriot air defences.
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- Qasef-2K
- Alias
- Qasef-1 / Qasef-2
- Manufacturer
- UIC / Houthi (clone Ababil-T iraniano)
- Country
- Iran
- Year
- 2016
- Category
- Loitering munition
- Class
- Small (< 25 kg)
- Status
- In service
Performance
- Range
- 150 km
- Endurance
- 2 h
- Top speed
- 250 km/h
- Service ceiling
- 3,000 m
- Propulsion
- Pistone 2T ≈ 25 hp, elica spintore
Physical characteristics
- MTOW
- 85 kg
- Payload
- 30 kg
- Weapons
- Testata HE/frammentazione 30 kg, fusione di prossimità
Onboard systems
- Sensors
- GPS/INS
- Datalink / control
- Pre-programmata, datalink LOS limitato
- Launch
- Rampa con razzo booster
- Recovery
- Impatto sul bersaglio (esplosione air-burst sopra il target)
Combat use
- ▸Yemen War (2016-present)
- ▸Attacks on UAE (2022)
- ▸Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia (2016-present)
- ▸Attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden against commercial shipping (2023-present)
- ▸US-UK Prosperity Guardian coalition operations (2024-)
Tags
Main operators
History
First identified in 2016 in Yemen, the Qasef-1 and Qasef-2K variant were used to neutralise Saudi Patriot radars via air-burst detonation.
A 2018 UN panel report confirmed near-total identity with the Iranian Ababil-T, evidencing illegal technology transfer.
The Qasef-2K is the operational version of the Iranian Ababil-T produced in Yemen under informal licence and is one of the most used drones by the Houthis in the Red Sea war since 2023.
The United Nations has documented since 2018 that the Qasef-2K is assembled in Yemen using components shipped by sea in violation of the international embargo, with tracking back to Chinese and Iranian suppliers.
The drone has been used in attacks against Saudi Arabia, the UAE and — since 2024 — against commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, forcing the international coalition (US, UK, EU) to use multi-million-dollar Sea Sparrow and Aster missiles to intercept units worth a few thousand dollars each.