Saudi Arabia is expanding a facility at Al-Duwadimi, about 200 kilometres west of Riyadh, to produce long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying larger explosive payloads, according to a Reuters report based on an analysis by two researchers at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). Sam Lair and Michael Duitsman reached their conclusion after examining more than a year of commercial satellite imagery of the site. Their findings point to a growing production facility, although the information reported does not specify its output or when production may begin.
Satellite imagery points to facility expansion
The assessment rests on imagery collected over an extended period rather than a single view of the site. Examining more than a year of commercial satellite images allowed the researchers to compare the facility over time and conclude that it is expanding. The report describes the site as a factory intended to produce long-range ballistic missiles with the capacity to carry larger explosive payloads. It does not provide a production figure or a timeline for the facility’s development.
The location places the facility at Al-Duwadimi, roughly 200 kilometres west of the Saudi capital. The reported distance helps locate the site, but the available account does not provide further details about its layout, the scale of the expansion or the equipment installed there. The researchers’ conclusion is therefore grounded in their review of imagery and their assessment of the facility’s purpose, rather than in a publicly stated production total.
Reuters reported the researchers’ findings, which have also been covered by Ratopati and Thaha Khabar. The central finding is that the factory is being expanded for missile production, with the missiles described as long-range and capable of carrying larger explosive payloads. The report does not identify a specific missile model or state how much farther it could travel or how much larger a payload it could carry.
What the findings do - and do not - establish
The imagery-based assessment offers evidence of physical development at the site, but it does not by itself establish how many missiles the facility will produce, when it will become operational or what the final production capacity will be. No such figures are included in the reported findings. The distinction matters: the researchers’ analysis identifies an expanding facility and its reported purpose, while leaving the eventual scale and schedule of production unclear.
The findings are attributed to Lair and Duitsman, researchers with FPRI, and were reached through analysis of commercial satellite imagery spanning more than a year. The account does not describe an official Saudi announcement about the expansion. It also does not provide a response from Saudi authorities or further information about the facility’s ownership, operation or procurement arrangements. Those points are not established by the details reported.
For now, the reported development is the expansion of a production site at Al-Duwadimi, with the intended output described as long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying larger explosive payloads. The researchers’ work offers a view of the project through repeated satellite observations, but the available details remain limited on production numbers, timing and the specific characteristics of any missiles. Further information on those issues would be needed to determine the facility’s eventual scale.
