US-Saudi venture to build Iran-style attack drones near Riyadh - Semafor

A joint venture between a US defense startup and a Saudi firm is building a factory near Riyadh to produce one-way attack drones modeled on Iran’s Shahed system, Semafor reported Monday.

The facility is being developed by SR2Vector, a partnership between Utah-based Vector Defense and Saudi startup SR2 Defense Systems, according to the report.

The factory will produce SKYWASP, a one-way attack drone developed by Vector and capable of striking targets up to 1,500 kilometers, or 930 miles, away — roughly the distance from Saudi Arabia’s northeast coast to Tehran.

“SKYWASP is a program that can level the playing field and boost Saudi Arabia’s deterrence capabilities,” Lucien Zeigler, SR2’s chief strategy officer and co-founder, told Semafor.

Zeigler did not disclose expected production figures, but said the factory would produce “operationally relevant volumes consistent with the kingdom’s strategic deterrence requirements.”

Semafor said SR2Vector plans to manufacture the drones both for the Saudi domestic market and for export to allied countries.