US-based defense firm Powerus is manufacturing drone interceptors in the UAE, the latest sign of the Gulf looking for new ways to defend itself against Iranian drone attacks. The firm has provided training, components, and software to assemble its Guardian interceptor to an Emirati contractor, The New York Times reported. The UAE facility will make around 30 interceptors a day, with a plan to get up to 100 a day soon.
Localization of defense manufacturing has become an urgent priority in the Gulf after the region was pummeled by Iranian drones and missiles in the early months of the war, threatening to exhaust supplies of expensive US-made interceptors. A joint venture between a US defense startup and a Saudi firm is also building a factory near Riyadh to manufacture combat drones modeled on Iran’s Shahed system, Semafor reported in May.