Saudi Arabia is expanding into the long-range strike drone segment with the SKYWASP, a one-way attack drone featuring a Shahed-style configuration.
Developed by SR2Vector, the platform has a reported range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles), allowing it to strike targets deep behind enemy lines.
Its delta-wing airframe, blended fuselage, nose-mounted payload section, and rear pusher propeller closely resemble the layout seen on Iran’s well-known Shahed series.
Rather than relying on continuous operator control, the SKYWASP follows pre-programmed waypoints during the terminal phase, reducing communications requirements and system complexity.
For navigation, it combines an inertial navigation system (INS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and anti-jamming technologies to maintain operations in electronically contested environments.
“It is made in Saudi Arabia at scale with the efficiency and discipline of the Kingdom’s leading private-sector advanced defense technologies manufacturing group,” SR2Vector stated, as quoted by Defense Security Asia.
“Defense alone does not deter. It mitigates. A $30M jet or a $3M missile is not the answer to a $30,000 drone. SKYWASP IS. THE KINGDOM’S FIRST.”
Bolstering Saudi’s Indigenous Capability
Beyond delivering a new long-range strike drone, the SKYWASP aims to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s domestic manufacturing base for advanced defense systems.
It also supports Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to increase the share of military procurement sourced from the domestic defense industry to 50 percent by the end of the decade.
The SKYWASP will be produced at SR2Vector’s manufacturing facility in Riyadh once the site becomes operational.
