Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are exploring a Ukrainian-designed interceptor drone costing $2,500 as a cheaper alternative to US-made missiles being rapidly depleted by waves of Iranian Shahed drone attacks, the Japanese firm marketing the technology told Reuters.
Terra Drone, a Japanese company that entered military sales last month through a partnership with Ukrainian start-up Amazing Drones, has seen a surge in enquiries from the Middle East since the war began. The firm is marketing the Terra A1 interceptor drone — originally designed to counter Russian Shahed attacks on Ukraine — to Gulf states grappling with the economics of shooting down mass-produced cheap drones with expensive interceptor missiles.
“Everyone started doing the maths. It simply doesn’t make economic sense and people are finally waking up to that,” said Terra Drone chief executive Toru Tokushige.
The cost disparity is stark. Each Terra A1 interceptor is priced at 400,000 yen ($2,526), compared with around $4 million for a ground-launched Patriot interceptor missile. The Shahed drones they are designed to destroy cost an estimated $20,000 each. Iran launched more than 1,000 drones in the first week of the conflict alone and is estimated to have the capacity to produce around 10,000 per month.
The Terra A1 has yet to be battle-tested. Tokushige said the drone was expected to be handed to Ukraine’s military in the coming months for trials. Under the agreement between Terra Drone and Amazing Drones, the Japanese firm handles overseas marketing while providing investment and manufacturing expertise.
Terra Drone already supplies survey and inspection drones to Saudi Aramco and said it could leverage that existing presence in the kingdom to help establish interceptor drone production in the Middle East. “This is an area where Japan’s manufacturing strengths can be fully utilised,” Tokushige said.
The Saudi Arabian and UAE embassies in Tokyo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reuters)
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