WORLD DEFENSE SHOW 2026 — Saudi company Intra Defense Technologies unveiled Nathir X, what it calls a mobile electronic support measure (ESM), to better help unmanned aerial vehicles avoid electronic warfare danger zones.
“We developed Nathir X … and it is there to protect our aircraft from entering any GNSS [satellite] denied in jamming areas,” Asim Qurashi, Intra’s vice president for engineering and innovations, told Breaking Defense.
Speaking at Intra’s booth at the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia where a Nathir X was on display, Qurashi said the first prototype was developed four months ago and is being field-tested now.
Pointing to one of the screens, Qurashi said the system “indicates the direction of arrival if we are headed towards an area with potential jamming,” he said. The ESM on display shows data on multiple screens inside a mobile vehicle.
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The company also has its Shalfa lightweight munition on display. The munition “has INS [inertial navigation system], GNSS and a semi-active laser seeker. The release phase and the mid-course relies on INS and GNSS and the final phase relies on semi-active laser seeker,” one company official told Breaking Defense.
He added that the software is able to switch between modes depending on the environment.
“Shalfa has the multipurpose warhead and the penetration is 700 mm [25.5 inches]. Also it comes in two configurations: with solid rocket motor and without,” he said, highlighting that it is 80 percent manufactured in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Arabian Military Industries and the Kingdom’s National Company for Mechanical Systems.
“It is in the testing phase. We did a captive [test] and we are planning to continue testing and to reach qualifications stage this year and by the end of this year we will start production,” he told Breaking Defense.
The company hopes to produce 12 munitions before the end of 2026 to be fielded afterwards.
Intra is already known in the region for its unmanned aerial vehicles, specifically Asef and Samoom, which it has produced for a few years. The ASEF UAV was also on display on its stand at the show.
The Saudi firm is also taking steps in the realm of aerostat development and production and has reached demonstration phase.
“We developed the aerostat system, and we did a flight demonstration to multiple customers from the security and defense industry with maritime radar and electro-optical gimbal, and we performed a mission on the south of Saudi Arabia where we were scanning international waters, which is up to 12 nautical miles and further,” Qurashi told Breaking Defense.
He added that the demonstration for the Saudi armed forces took place in November, where the tech was successful in exercises in identifying any threatening boats or low flying drones. The aerostat could detect multiple targets, and surpassed many requirements for its radar operations.
“Having a radar at 150 meters [height] is a big advantage because you get a longer line of sight and you can see over the Red Sea so you have early warning for the threat itself,” he said.
Intra is developing three sizes of the balloon: 15-, 22- and 34-meter versions.
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