Lockheed Martin to invest $1 billion in Saudi Arabia to upgrade defense production

Middle East, News, US March 10, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin plans to spend $1 billion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to help its military with an ambitious up-gradation under the ‘Vision 2030’.

Chief Executive for Lockheed Martin Saudi Arabia Joseph Rank announced the company’s plans by stating that they would be working closely with the Saudi General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) as well as other partners to develop a self-reliant defense manufacturing ecosystem that would mainly focus on producing missile defense systems and high-end military equipment.

Saudi Arabia has the sixth-largest defense budget in the world and the major chunk of its budget is spent on the import of foreign-manufactured military equipment. Being one of the biggest buyers of military equipment in the world, Saudi Arabia is trying to cut its expenses by localizing the military manufacturing industry.

One of the main goals in Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’ plans is to decrease military spending and spend most of the defense budget on the local manufacturing market by 2030.

In the initial phase, Lockheed Martin is planning to invest in scholarship and internship programs to enhance the research and development sector in Saudi Arabia. Later on, the company plans to set up military equipment manufacturing industry in Saudi Arabia that would help the country to locally produce defense equipment and cut down its expenses significantly.

While talking about Lockheed Martin’s ties with Saudi Arabia, Joseph Rank stated that the company is the only U.S. firm that has provided Saudi Arabia with a military satellite to provide secure communications. With Saudi Arabia’s increasing confrontations on several fronts including Yemen and increasing threats from Iran, he stressed the importance of space-based early-warning satellite defense systems. “The space offerings that Lockheed has will meet the needs of the Kingdom and also the other partners in the region,” he added.

*^{Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. (Image Credit: Lockheed Martin)}*

The first project that Lockheed Martin plans to initiate in Saudi Arabia is to localize the manufacturing of interceptor launchers. Under this program, Lockheed Martin would help the Kingdom’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) with setting up manufacturing set up for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System.

Lockheed Martin would provide GAMI with technical expertise, spare parts, and special training to execute the production setup in time.