Role & capabilities
- Multirole aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Multirole aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST)
- Origin / production countries
- Saudi Arabia
- Other names
- Saqr 1
- Variants / configurations
- Saqr-1A first generation; Saqr-1B second generation; Further generation planned in the 2017 announcement
- Operators / programme customers
- Not confirmed in the reviewed public sources
Evidence & current status
Historical government announcement, not evidence of current fleet size or ongoing production. The unverified label concerns present status and performance confirmation.
Saqr-1 is a Saudi uncrewed aircraft development programme described by KACST through the Saudi Press Agency in May 2017. The announcement presented a medium-altitude aircraft with automatic take-off and landing, day and night observation equipment and satellite communications. It described successive development generations rather than a single fully specified export product.
The official account stated that first-generation testing and local training had been completed, followed by a second-generation system. It also outlined a further production objective for 2018. A planned completion date is not evidence that the objective was achieved, and the reviewed record does not independently establish the programme’s present-day service inventory.
Published endurance and altitude figures are therefore labelled as claims from the 2017 announcement. The satellite-enabled distance is retained with its original context instead of being described as a verified combat radius. Saqr-1 should not be confused with unrelated products or services using the same name. This entry preserves the documented Saudi programme while making its age and unresolved current status visible. A fresh operator or manufacturer update is needed before upgrading its service classification.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Medium-altitude fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Automatic take-off and landing; emergency parachute described | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Mass | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Up to 24 hours, 2017 official claim | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Range | More than 2,500 km cited with satellite communications | 2017 announcement; not independently verified flight range or mission radius. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | 20,000 ft stated operating altitude | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Day/night cameras; radar and electronic payload options proposed | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Satellite communications and ground control | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Programme disclosed
KACST described testing, successive generations and a future production objective.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Saudi Press Agency: KACST Saqr-1 announcement, 10 May 2017 (opens in a new tab)Government / programme announcement