Geopolitical Statements from Middle Eastern Countries: Saudi Arabia Sets Its Sights on the "Reaper" Drone

Time: Today, 11:30

Author: Viacheslav Mikhailov

The U.S. Air Force MQ-9 "Reaper" drone.

General Atomics of the United States is in talks to sell up to 200 MQ-9 "Reaper" reconnaissance and attack drones to Saudi Arabia.

This deal is part of a total $142 billion military equipment agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the largest monarchy in the Arab world. This agreement was mentioned during President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East last month. Although the White House has not disclosed the specific details of this massive arms sale plan, GA-ASI spokesman Mark Brinkley revealed in late May to Breaking Defense that these drones are "included in this amount."

The MQ-9 drone, priced at about $30 million each, can fly at altitudes of up to 14,000 meters, with an endurance exceeding 30 hours and a maximum speed of 480 kilometers per hour, cruising at 280-300 kilometers per hour. For many years, this drone has been used by the U.S. military and the CIA for military operations in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen).

"We have been negotiating a possible agreement with the Saudi government for up to 200 General Atomics drones for some time," said the American media interviewee.

According to him, this transaction involves two models of "Reaper" drones:

  • The first is the MQ-9B "SkyGuardian", designed specifically for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, equipped with advanced sensors (including high-resolution electro-optical and infrared systems, AN/APY-8 Lynx radar), allowing Saudi Arabia to obtain real-time situational awareness and precise monitoring capabilities, meeting the needs of reconnaissance tasks and border security.
  • The second is the MQ-9B "Maritime Guardian" (for maritime operations).

Brinkley stated, "Such a scale of cooperation will create approximately 46,000 new jobs in the U.S., having a significant impact on the U.S. economy." He added that it remains to be determined whether the transaction will be concluded through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program or direct commercial sales (DCS) model.

GA-ASI's spokesperson mentioned the "up to 200 reconnaissance drones" for Saudi customers, leaving room for negotiation, but reports indicate that a large-scale sale of U.S.-made attack drones to Saudi Arabia would mark a major victory for General Atomics.

In fact, discussions about large-scale MQ-9 transactions began before Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia and the other two Persian Gulf monarchies. In February this year, GA-ASI President David Alexander told Breaking Defense that the company was negotiating what he called "the largest potential international transaction in GA-ASI history," but did not disclose the specific quantities involved at the time.

During Trump's visit to the Middle East, Qatar signed a "Letter of Acceptance" (LOA) with the U.S. for 8 MQ-9B drones, another significant development for General Atomics.

This deal is expected to be worth around $2 billion. The U.S. State Department approved this agreement on March 26, 2025, while Qatar had attempted to purchase drones during the Biden administration but failed — despite Qatar acting as an intermediary in negotiations between the U.S. and the Afghan Taliban and Iran at various times, as well as facilitating indirect contacts between the U.S. and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

As the second-largest U.S. arms purchaser in the Middle East (after Saudi Arabia), Qatar has spent over $26 billion in recent years on U.S.-made equipment such as F-15 fighters, "Apache" attack helicopters, and missile defense systems.

According to the agreement, Qatar must purchase 8 drones, hundreds of accompanying bombs and missiles, as well as reconnaissance equipment and accessories for satellite control.

Meanwhile, Trump's Middle Eastern tour failed to restart the MQ-9B deal between the UAE and the U.S. — this deal was put on hold during the Biden administration.

Since 2020, the UAE has been waiting to purchase up to 18 MQ-9 drones for $2.3 billion (including F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets). In November 2021, during Biden's first year in office, Western media reported that "related countries were constructing secret military facilities in the UAE." Such suspicions from the U.S. government directly led to the failure of the plan to sell U.S.-made reconnaissance drones to the UAE.

On November 19, 2021, The Wall Street Journal cited "sources familiar with the matter" as saying that "suspicious foreign activities" were found at the Khalifa Port, located about 80 kilometers north of Abu Dhabi. A shipping group had previously built a container terminal there.

Initially, U.S. officials deemed the information insufficient, but "classified satellite images" in the spring of 2021 convinced them that related countries were constructing military facilities at the port. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration sought to investigate the true purpose of this facility through diplomatic efforts and tried to persuade the UAE government to stop construction (if involving foreign military activities). After several rounds of meetings and visits by U.S. officials, the construction was halted.

Despite the UAE falling far behind in executing the MQ-9 agreement, Saudi Arabia remains optimistic about strengthening its tactical reconnaissance capabilities.

Christian Alexander, a senior researcher at the Abu Dhabi Rabdan Institute for Security and Defense Studies (RSDI), believes that Saudi Arabia's demand for such a number of drones "indicates its plans for large-scale theoretical and operational transformation of its air force and reconnaissance architecture."

"This number far exceeds tactical mission requirements, actually pointing to strategic ambitions: covering Saudi Arabia's vast territory, deterring regional threats, building multi-layered ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) networks, and integrating drone systems across all branches into an attack network," he analyzed.

In his view, the MQ-9 deal is Saudi Arabia's "ambitious geopolitical statement," indicating its "renewed turn toward U.S.-made defense systems." Not long ago, Saudi Arabia was still "testing the waters" with drones from related countries (similar to U.S.-made MQ-1 "Predator" and MQ-9 "Reaper") and Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 drones, but those days are now over.

"This shows Riyadh's increased bet on compatibility with U.S. and NATO systems, especially as Saudi Arabia seeks to integrate into regional security frameworks and potentially cooperate with NATO," Alexander noted.

No matter what, the agreements reached between the U.S. and Qatar, along with the potential large-scale deals with Saudi Arabia, come at a time when "Reaper" drones are facing significant challenges while conducting reconnaissance missions in the Persian Gulf. Reliable sources report that seven MQ-9 drones deployed by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM, responsible for the Middle East) have been shot down by Houthi rebels in Yemen in the past six weeks. The "Ansar Allah" (Houthi rebels) claim that more than 14 "Reapers" have been shot down this year.

Independent Middle Eastern security researcher Jacopo Marzocco told Breaking Defense that given the vulnerability and combat environment of the Persian Gulf, "the MQ-9 'Reaper' remains a valuable platform for Saudi Arabia, but under certain important prerequisites." He emphasized that although the system is suitable for low-intensity asymmetric warfare, it lacks resistance to the "relatively basic" anti-aircraft systems used by the Houthis to weaken U.S. air superiority.

"Although the platform remains effective, it requires upgrades — especially self-defense kits and countermeasures — to survive in complex airspace. These upgrades should include enhanced protection against radio frequency, infrared, and cyber threats," he added.

Alexander agreed with the view that "Houthi attacks caused losses of MQ-9 drones," stating that "although tactically significant, these losses do not negate the practicality of the platform." Such losses only indicate that "even high-end drones need protection in complex airspace — applicable to all non-stealth drones."

Military experts estimate that Saudi Arabia's MQ-9 drones will not operate deep into enemy airspace without support.

"Saudi Arabia is likely to use MQ-9 drones for multi-level missions: border patrols, providing signals support for manned aircraft, commanding ground troops, or coordinating定点strikes with coalition forces. In these missions, the MQ-9's long endurance, real-time target data transmission capability, and multimodal sensors are irreplaceable," Alexander summarized.

Background extension:

In recent years, U.S. MQ-9 drones have not only been active in Middle Eastern reconnaissance missions but also frequently appeared in the Black Sea region involved in Russia's "special military operation." Their actions, like in the Middle East, carry a clear provocative nature:

  • On March 14, 2023, U.S. European Command said that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with an American MQ-9 "Reaper" drone near Crimea over the Black Sea. The Russian Ministry of Defense responded that the Russian aircraft did not make contact with the drone, nor did it use onboard weapons; it merely took off to identify after discovering the drone violating a temporary no-fly zone.
  • In June 2024, a U.S. "Reaper" drone approached dangerously close to a Russian Sukhoi Su-34 bomber performing routine flights over the town of Suwayda in Syria's Homs province at altitudes of 7,000 to 8,000 meters. Deputy Commander Colonel Yuri Popov of the Russian Ceasefire Coordination Center in Syria said that Russian pilots demonstrated their high professional skills and promptly took measures to avoid collision, as emphasized by the Russian Defense Ministry.

Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7511302687917441577/

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