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Air · Multirole aircraft

Samoom

Saudi twin-engine surveillance aircraft development with a reported Brazilian design partner; exhibition models and historical first-flight forecasts do not establish operational service.

Role & capabilities

  • Long-duration reconnaissance design
  • Modular military payload programme
Development / trialsDevelopment / trials
Primary domain
Air
System type
Multirole aircraft
Developer / manufacturer
Intra Defense Technologies / Akaer
Origin / production countries
Saudi Arabia / Brazil
Other names
SAMOOM
Variants / configurations
Not distinguished in reviewed sources
Operators / programme customers
Not identified in reviewed sources

Evidence & current status

Reviewed 21 September 2026. Samoom identity is established by original exhibition reporting; Akaer's own statement corroborates the industrial work but does not name the model. Brazil denotes the specifically reported design partnership. Forecast first flights and service-entry dates remain unverified.

Samoom is Intra Defense Technologies' larger twin-engine uncrewed aircraft development. Aviation Week's original World Defense Show reporting identified the named programme and its displayed scale model in March 2022. The intended role combined long-duration reconnaissance with other military payload options; a proposed role is not evidence that an integrated operational configuration has been delivered.

Aviation Week subsequently identified Brazil's Akaer as the design partner in April 2023. Akaer's own announcement confirms cooperation with Intra and work on a Class 3 twin-engine prototype, although it does not name Samoom in that statement. The Brazilian association here is therefore specifically a reported design contribution, not merely a company headquarters or an export destination.

Published first-flight forecasts have shifted between accounts. They are not recorded here as completed events. The 2026 IISS review continues to describe a development programme and discusses earlier projected entry dates rather than confirming an accepted fleet. Detailed values from exhibition concepts should not be combined with later models into an artificial definitive specification. Current prototype flight evidence, configuration identification and procurement acceptance remain necessary.

Sourced specifications

Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.

SpecificationReported valueContext & source
AirframeTwin-engine fixed-wing developmentNamed Samoom exhibited as a scale model in 2022; later production configuration not verified. Source ↗
Launch / recoveryNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
PropulsionNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
DimensionsNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
MassNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
EnduranceNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
RangeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SpeedNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
AltitudeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
PayloadNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SensorsNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Communications / navigationNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗

Publication history

  • — Added in the September 2026 global coverage review, with sources, configuration limits and explicit data gaps.

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Follow the evidence

Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.

  1. Aviation Week, 21 March–3 April 2022 — original WDS reporting (opens in a new tab)Original exhibition reporting
  2. Aviation Week — Akaer identified as Samoom design partner, 13 April 2023 (opens in a new tab)Original reporting
  3. Akaer — partnership and twin-engine prototype development, June 2023 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer
  4. IISS — UAVs: ISR, Deterrence and War, 2026 (opens in a new tab)Research institute

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Reviewed 21 Sept 2026Read