SR2 Defense Systems confirms launch of full operations as the Kingdom's first private-sector advanced defense technologies manufacturing group of its kind.

RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA — SR2 Defense Systems, the Kingdom's first private-sector advanced defense technologies manufacturing group of its kind, today confirmed the launch of its full operations and the activation of its in-Kingdom manufacturing value chain. SR2 was formally established as a Saudi-domiciled entity (Commercial Registration No. 7053765173) in Q1 2026, and has since built out its founding team, partnership architecture, and operational platform in preparation for this moment.

SR2 was founded as a groundbreaking private-sector initiative to leverage the speed, scale, and discipline that only private capital and private operators can bring to the Kingdom's most consequential industrial mission: building the advanced defense systems Saudi Arabia and its allies need today. The company was established to close the gaps that exist in the marketplace and to move on the capabilities the Kingdom needs most, with the technology partners best equipped to build them.

SR2 was founded by four seasoned executives: Idris Al-Zakari serves as Chief Executive Officer, Lucien Zeigler serves as Chief Strategy Officer, Brad Gandy serves as Chief Operating Officer, and Ahmad Nasralla serves as Chief Investment Officer. Originally conceived and announced as a traditional US-Saudi joint venture between the leading Saudi private sector capabilities group and a leading US defense technology company, the co-founders opted instead to establish an all-new entity “for maximum market agility to meet the moment; a challenge and opportunity that became more urgent as conflict accelerated across the region,” the co-founders said.

Idris Al-Zakari, Chief Executive Officer of SR2 Defense Systems, said: “The Kingdom's private sector is ready to do what was once thought impossible: manufacture the world's most advanced defense systems needed for today and tomorrow on Saudi soil, at scale, with precision for not just local markets but global partner-customers. The brilliance of SR2 is the partnership behind it. Together with our American co-founders, we fuse the best Saudi capabilities and the best US/NATO and allied technology to create a new, defining chapter for the Kingdom's defense industrial base, and SR2 is leading it.”

SR2 manufactures battlefield-proven, globally in-demand US and allied defense technology in-Kingdom across multiple ITAR/NATO-compliant capabilities and manufacturing facilities. The company is structured to deliver sovereign manufacturing capability for the systems the Kingdom's security depends on, at the speed and precision the moment demands.

Col. Brad Gandy (Ret.), Chief Operating Officer of SR2 Defense Systems, said: “As someone who has spent a career in service with the U.S. Army and decades in the region, the moment we're in now is unlike any challenge before it, and we view this challenge as an opportunity to catalyze the defensive capabilities of our Saudi partners and our allies. What we build with SR2 is what is needed now, for the conflicts of today and tomorrow, and can integrate with the allied supply chain at this critical time.”

SR2's model converges three forces: advanced defense technology from leading US and allied innovators; advanced precision manufacturing experience drawn from the Kingdom's private sector; and in-Kingdom execution at the scale only private capital and private operators can deliver. Capital deployment into SR2's programs is conducted through a parallel private-sector vehicle structured for institutional discipline and operator-grade selectivity.

Lucien Zeigler, Chief Strategy Officer of SR2 Defense Systems and General Partner and Co-Founder of MASNA Ventures, said: “Together with our Saudi partners and co-founders, we're building a full defense sector value chain across technology, manufacturing, and capital that attacks and closes the gaps in this moment of urgency. This was the Kingdom's Vision from the outset, set in motion in 2016, and it has proven to be absolutely correct. SR2 is ready now to deliver at scale, not only for the local market but for allied end-users. By building globally in-demand systems to export quality, we're taking the first step in transforming Saudi Arabia into a defense industrial powerhouse as only the private sector can do at speed and scale.”

SR2 is fully aligned with Vision 2030's localization mandate and operates as a Saudi-domiciled private-sector entity. The company holds active partnerships and programs across counter-UAS, precision munitions, autonomous systems, and additional advanced defense capabilities, with multiple programs in execution today.

Ahmad Nasralla, Chief Investment Officer of SR2 Defense Systems, said: “For decades, US and allied defense innovators have seen the Kingdom as a market to sell into. With SR2, we're signaling something different: the Kingdom is a market to build in, alongside a partner that has been engineered for exactly that purpose. SR2 brings the manufacturing depth, the regulatory infrastructure, and, critically, the capital architecture that proven technology partners require. We are open for partnership, and we are ready to move at the speed our partners need.”