Florida-based defense technology startup Powerus has established a contract-manufacturing facility in the United Arab Emirates to produce its low-cost Guardian drone interceptor. The facility, which became operational in July, marks the company’s first Middle East production site and forms a core component of its strategy to scale global c-sUAS manufacturing to 15,000 units monthly by mid-2027. Operating under U.S. export control authorizations, the setup pairs Powerus design and software specifications with local manufacturing capacity.
Priced at approximately $5,000 per unit, the Guardian is built on a modular, snap-together architecture derived from combat-proven Ukrainian counter-drone designs. The system incorporates off-the-shelf microchips and GPS modules, achieving a burst speed of 340 kph, an operational range of 15 km, and an endurance of 28 minutes. Operating as a cost-effective layer alongside high-end air defense assets like the PAC-3, the system targets low-cost one-way attack drones to mitigate defense inventory exhaustion during high-volume threat saturation. This was reported by The New York Times.
Michael Sinensky, Powerus co-founder and executive vice president of marketing, stated that the arrangement provides the regional partner with the training, components, and software needed to assemble interceptors locally to address immediate threat schedules. Operating in parallel with local efforts, Powerus has also partnered with a manufacturer near Mumbai to expand its production network into India, maintaining a business model centered on technical oversight and rapid regional coproduction.
