WDS 2026: Saudi Border Guard displays new equipment

A new version of the Otokar Ural that is in service with the Saudi Border Guard. (Janes/Vishal Sengupta)

The Saudi Border Guard displayed advanced systems it was not previously known to operate during the World Defense Show (WDS) held in Riyadh from 8 to 12 February.

Although the border guard includes the coastguard, its most surprising contribution to the Ministry of Interior stand was a Greyshark autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).

Euroatlas, the Germany company that develops the Greyshark, describes it as the most advanced long-endurance system of its type. It can be fitted with various sensors that enable it to detect mines and other hostile assets, monitor underwater infrastructure, and carry out long-range surveillance and reconnaissance. It has an artificial intelligence (AI) target recognition system and can relay the resulting data via radio or satellite communications antennas mounted on retractable masts.

The Saudi Border Guard said its AUV is for protecting vital strategic installations.

Greyshark was not previously known to be in service, but the smaller battery-powered Bravo version was demonstrated during NATO's Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems (REPMUS) exercise in September 2025. This has an endurance of 5.5 days and a range of 550 n miles when travelling at 4 kt. The larger Greyshark Foxtrot uses hydrogen fuel cells to give it the 16-week endurance and 8,000 n mile range at the same speed.

The Saudi Border Guard also displayed a Doruk-VR surveillance system made by the Turkish company Remote Sensing Technologies (RST). This combines the company's Doruk X-band radar, which is primarily designed to detect small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with thermal and low-light cameras for verifying targets at closer ranges, and a laser rangefinder.