UAE ‘likely’ building airstrip on strategic island in Red Sea

Satellite imagery reviewed by the Associated Press shows an airstrip under construction on Zuqar Island, a strategic island in the Red Sea about 55 miles south of the port of Hodeidah, which Yemen’s Houthis control. While no one has claimed the airstrip, it is “likely” being constructed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in concert with anti-Houthi forces, according to the AP.

The AP reported that companies based in the UAE, which supports anti-Houthi forces, are involved in this project. The island’s strategic location enables surveillance of Houthi activity in the Red Sea and the nearby Yemeni coast, as well as provides a launching point for operations to intercept vessels smuggling weapons to the Houthis.

The airstrip is approximately 2,000 meters long. Construction on the island began with a dock built in April of 2025, and satellite imagery over the course of this year shows progress, with the latest images taken in mid-October revealing painted runway markings. According to i24 News, a 185-meter jetty connected to a logistics warehouse has also been built.

Zuqar Island is the largest island in the Hanish Islands Archipelago, which is located about 100 miles north of the Bab al Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea’s southern choke point. Historically, the island has been a point of contention between Eritrea and Yemen, but has been under Yemen’s control since 1998. In 2014, the Houthis captured the island, but it was retaken by the anti-Houthi coalition led by Saudi Arabia in 2015. Since then, Tariq Saleh, a vice president in Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and the commander of the UAE-backed National Resistance Forces (NRF), has controlled the island and stationed forces there.

“The National Resistance Navy controls several very important islands, the most important of which are Zuqar and the Hanish Archipelago. These islands (located at the entrance to the Red Sea) are a major crossing point for smuggling routes,” Brigadier General Sadiq Duwaid, spokesman for the NRF, said.  

In late June, the NRF intercepted 750 tons of Iranian weapons that were en route to the Houthis from Djibouti. “The presence of our naval forces on these islands gave them a decisive advantage, allowing them to seize and control this shipment,” Duwaid said.

The NRF has intercepted more smuggled shipments in the months since, but it is unclear to what extent personnel or resources on Zuqar have contributed to these operations. NRF air defenses on or close to Zuqar shot down a Houthi attack drone near the island in August, according to the force’s military website.

UAE presence in the region

The UAE has also built strategic positions on the other side of the Bab al Mandeb Strait in the Socotra Archipelago, a chain of islands over 200 miles south of Yemen and about 150 miles east of the Horn of Africa in the Arabian Sea. The island chain is under the influence of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the UAE’s main ally in Yemen.

In January 2025, satellite imagery showed a runway under construction on Abd al Kuri, an island in the archipelago. Abd al Kuri is also a strategic location, as it lies near the shipping lane from the Indian Ocean through the Bab al Mandeb Strait into the Red Sea. An airstrip has also been constructed on Samhah, another island in the Socotra chain. Both of these initiatives are believed to be Emirati projects.

Local sources have claimed that Israel has an intelligence and military presence in Socotra and has developed bases in coordination with the UAE. However, according to The Jerusalem Post, Israel “has no direct presence in the Socotra Archipelago.”

The UAE also established an airstrip and hangars on Mayun, an island crucially located in the Bab al Mandeb Strait, in 2021. In addition, the UAE has built airfields and military infrastructure in the territory controlled by its partners in Yemen and Somaliland.

Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis.