Saudi Arabia, US Enter Strategic Alliance to Establish Local Drone Infrastructure

The Saudi Excellence and Ondas' subsidiary Airobotics Ltd signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement to localize Airobotics autonomous drone systems and solutions and provide aerial data solutions to local governmental and commercial entities.
The Saudi Excellence and Ondas' subsidiary Airobotics Ltd signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement to localize Airobotics autonomous drone systems and solutions and provide aerial data solutions to local governmental and commercial entities.
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Saudi Arabia, US Enter Strategic Alliance to Establish Local Drone Infrastructure

The Saudi Excellence and Ondas' subsidiary Airobotics Ltd signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement to localize Airobotics autonomous drone systems and solutions and provide aerial data solutions to local governmental and commercial entities.
The Saudi Excellence and Ondas' subsidiary Airobotics Ltd signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement to localize Airobotics autonomous drone systems and solutions and provide aerial data solutions to local governmental and commercial entities.

The Saudi Excellence and Ondas' subsidiary Airobotics Ltd signed on Tuesday a Strategic Alliance Agreement to localize Airobotics autonomous drone systems and solutions and provide aerial data solutions to local governmental and commercial entities.

Ondas Holding is a leading provider of private industrial wireless networks and commercial drone and automated data solutions.

Saudi Excellence and Airobotics plan to jointly establish a local office in Saudi Arabia to localize Airobotics autonomous drone systems and solutions and provide aerial data solutions to local governmental and commercial entities.

The companies will work together to develop and foster an ecosystem of technology and service providers across the Kingdom by employing local staff and working closely with local partners.

Following the announcement, Ondas shares increased 20 percent.

President of Saudi Excellence Sheikh Abdullah al-Meleihi said the partnership aims to provide sophisticated autonomous drone platforms to government and commercial customers in the Kingdom.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat: "There are significant projects in the Saudi market, and as the economy expands and diversifies, demand for next-generation technologies is growing."

"Together with Airobotics, we will provide high-value technical solutions while also training Saudi cadres to work in this field."

Meleihi indicated that both companies will work together to develop and enhance an ecosystem of technology and service providers across the Kingdom, as the initiative aims to support the vision of Saudi 2030, following the guidance and support of Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The drone market is growing continuously in all military sectors and security and civil uses, and it is one of the promising sectors in the Middle East region, said Meleihi, noting that Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to localize the drone industry.

He asserted that Excellence plans to start manufacturing this aircraft type in the Kingdom and train Saudi cadres.

Moreover, he indicated that China's DJI controls more than 70 percent of the world's drone market, expecting the need to grow from $30.6 billion in 2022 to $55.8 billion by 2030.

The Chinese company was formed in 2006 out of a college dorm room by its founder Frank Wang selling flight control components to universities and Chinese electric companies.

CEO of Airobotics Meir Kliner expresses his pride in expanding the business in the region to Saudi Arabia and being recognized and chosen by Saudi Excellence as the leading provider of drone infrastructure.

Kliner said Vision 2030 and the country's economic transformation are creating significant opportunities for Airobotics in defense and civil markets.

"Together with the Saudi Excellence company, we look forward to implementing our state-of-the-art autonomous drone technologies across Saudi Arabia and localizing these efforts for the mutual benefit of our companies and society," said the official.



Egypt, Cyprus Sign Gas Export Deals, Boosting Eastern Mediterranean Energy Cooperation

The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
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Egypt, Cyprus Sign Gas Export Deals, Boosting Eastern Mediterranean Energy Cooperation

The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)
The logo of Italian energy company Eni is seen at a gas station in Rome, Italy August 16, 2018. (Reuters)

Egypt and Cyprus signed agreements on Monday enabling the export of gas from Cyprus's offshore fields to Egypt for liquefaction and re-export to Europe, as both countries seek to bolster the Eastern Mediterranean's role as an energy hub.

The deals signed at the 2025 Egypt Energy Show formalize a long-anticipated plan to link Cypriot reserves to Egypt’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, a move that leverages Egypt’s existing infrastructure to process and ship natural gas to European markets.

Monday's agreements involve gas extracted from one Cypriot site, Cronos Block 6 - now under license to a consortium of Italy's Eni and France's Total - to be processed at Egypt's Zohr facilities before being liquefied at Damietta and exported to Europe.

A second memorandum of understanding outlines a framework of processing gas from Cyprus' offshore Aphrodite field, under license to a Chevron-led consortium, which will also be sent to Egypt for processing.

The east Mediterranean has yielded some major gas discoveries in recent years, while a disruption in energy supplies from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has sharpened Europe's attention on securing supplies elsewhere.

"The essence of these agreements is not limited to promoting the exploitation of deposits, but broadens the prospects for energy cooperation with Egypt, while contributing to regional stability and strengthening our country's geopolitical position in the Eastern Mediterranean," a statement from Cyprus's Presidency said.

Cypriot officials have previously said they expect gas from Block 6 Cronos to possibly come online in 2026 or 2027. Cronos gas in place is estimated at more than 3 trillion cubic feet (tcf).

Aphrodite holds an estimated 3.5 tcf of gas. Israel's NewMed, a member of the consortium, expects gas to come online in 2031, it said in a stock exchange filing on Sunday.

In a Monday filing update, it said the "non-binding" MoU envisaged that Egypt's national gas company, EGAS, would be the sole buyer of the gas produced from Aphrodite, while the partners would be granted an option to purchase specific quantities of the gas sold to EGAS as LNG.

The signing of the Aphrodite deal follows a recent breakthrough between Cyprus and the Chevron-led consortium after months of disagreement over a development plan.

The agreement provides a boost for Egypt, which has struggled with declining domestic gas production and last year returned to being a net importer of natural gas.

Egypt recently signed $3 billion worth of LNG supply deals with Shell and TotalEnergies to cover domestic demand for 2025.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has emphasized the country's need to ramp up production at its own Zohr gas field, where operator Eni has resumed drilling after output dropped to 1.9 billion cubic feet per day in early 2024.