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| Arabia | |
| Saudis Buying South African Weaponized Drones | |
| 2013-04-02 | |
| Saudi Arabia is buying an armed drone from South Africa after the Obama administration declined to sell the oil-rich kingdom US Predator or Reaper missile-firing unmanned aircraft. The state-owned South African company Denel Dynamics is working covertly with the Saudis to develop the Seeker 400 drone into an armed combat system for the Saudi military, the Paris-based newsletter Intelligence Online reported March 27. The Seeker 400 is an advanced version of the company's Seeker II unarmed surveillance aircraft. The newsletter stated that the Saudi military would be the first customer to purchase the Seeker 400 armed drone and engineers from Denel are in the kingdom as part of the secret program. If completed, the sale would allow Saudi Arabia to join the growing number of militaries that operate missile-firing drones--the most advanced weapon currently in use to launch precision strikes on terrorists. The new drone will be equipped with South Africa's Mokopa air-to-ground missiles that are currently deployed on Algerian helicopters. The drone also can be outfitted with Impi laser-guided missiles with a range of 10 kilometers. The drones are believed to be sought by the Saudis for use against the terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is currently operating in Yemen and has conducted international operations against the United States. The United Arab Emirates is purchasing an unarmed export version of the Predator called the Predator XP, produced by General Atomics. Riyadh has been trying to purchase missile-firing drones from the United States but so far the requests have been denied. According to the newsletter, the Saudis have sought armed drones for several years and want the weapons to counter Iran's unmanned combat vehicles known as the Karrar and the Shahed 129, which are fitted with Shahid-1 missiles. However, Saudi Arabia lacks the infrastructure needed to operate drones. The systems require satellite communications that permit remote video and communications that allow drones to be piloted.
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| Posted by:tipper |
| #4 In the past South Africa made some really good military equipment. Anyone know if they still do? Posted by rjschwarz Yes, they still do. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-04-02 21:22 |
| #3 Why do the Saudis need drones? They can do everything with an attack helicopter that a drone can do. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2013-04-02 21:12 |
| #2 If it's like the SA military their products probably have a bad case of "affirmative action". |
| Posted by: tipover 2013-04-02 20:10 |
| #1 In the past South Africa made some really good military equipment. Anyone know if they still do? |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2013-04-02 14:44 |