Saudi Arabia seeking to produce replica of Iran’s Shahed drone: Report

A joint venture between a US startup and a Saudi firm is reportedly building a factory near Riyadh to produce combat drones modeled on Iran’s cutting-edge Shahed.

The US news site Semafor reported that SR2Vector, a new partnership between Utah-based Vector Defense and Saudi-based startup SR2 Defense Systems, will set up the factory to manufacture SKYWASP unmanned aerial vehicles.

SKYWASP is a one-way attack drone capable of hitting targets up to 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away.

“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 said.

Without providing figures for the factory’s output, Zeigler said it will develop “operationally relevant volumes consistent with the kingdom’s strategic deterrence requirements.”

Meanwhile, the report said SR2Vector will produce drones both for the Saudi domestic market and for export to allied countries.

The Shahed‑136 is an Iranian‑manufactured, low‑cost, long‑range loitering munition. It is specifically engineered for saturation attacks, where dozens or even hundreds of drones are launched simultaneously to overwhelm costly air defense systems.

Explainer: Why every country is scrambling to replicate Iran’s Shahed-136 drone

Shahed‑136, a low-cost Iranian kamikaze drone, has reshaped warfare, inspiring global replication, challenging traditional powers, and becoming a standard for long-range, precision unmanned systems.

Employing a delta‑wing airframe with a pusher propeller, the Shahed‑136 can travel at speeds of 185-200 km/h and has an estimated operational range of up to 2,500 km, enabling it to strike targets deep behind enemy lines.

Its payload — a 40-50 kg high-explosive warhead — is sufficient to destroy or severely damage infrastructure, command centers, and fuel depots.

The Shahed-136 has for years become a model for drone manufacturing in other countries such as the United States.

It was used in Iran’s successful retaliatory attacks on American bases and assets in the Persian Gulf Arab states during the recent illegal US-Israeli war of aggression against the Islamic Republic.

A recent Wall Street Journal report said corporations in the US, China, France, and Britain are locked in a full-scale race to develop drones modeled on the Shahed-136.

During a visit to Qatar in May 2025, US President Donald Trump openly praised Iranian drones for their efficiency and affordability, describing them as “very good, fast, and deadly”.

Trump also revealed that he had challenged American arms manufacturers to produce a comparable drone, only to be quoted an astonishing $41 million for a model similar to Iran’s, which costs merely $35,000 to $40,000.

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