Saudi Arabian Military Industries Co. (SAMI)

The Saudi Arabian Military Industries Co., (SAMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), serves as a national partner in the defense and security sector. It was established in 2017 to advance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s defense industries strategy by localizing military manufacturing and developing cutting-edge defense systems, in alignment with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

SAMI's headquarters are located in the capital, Riyadh, and it has a board of directors headed by the Minister of Defense.

SAMI operates through its five main sector units:

Aviation and space: These involve the support and modernization for fixed-wing aircrafts and helicopters, the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft structures, the main parts of aircrafts, engines and aircraft electronics, in addition to the manufacture of aircraft structures from metal and composite materials, as well as unmanned aircrafts, such as surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence aircrafts, and armed drones.

Defense systems: SAMI develops pioneering and advanced defense systems and manufactures high-quality defense munitions, systems, and weapons for its customers inside and outside Saudi Arabia. These products include munitions, remote weapon systems, missile defense systems (air, land, and sea), missile launcher systems, missile systems, and anti-drone systems.

Advanced electronics: SAMI aims to enhance the capabilities of defense electronics in Saudi Arabia through integrated and comprehensive technological solutions in the defense sector. This will enable the production and development of products and the local provision of services by more than 50 percent in the defense and security sector. The products include sensors (radar and electro-optical systems), communication systems, protection and monitoring systems, electronic warfare systems, Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligence (C4I) systems, as well as naval combat systems and armored vehicle mission systems.

Land systems: SAMI aims to build and develop local capabilities across all areas of defense industries to conduct a research in advanced land systems, in addition to manufacturing, assembling, testing and maintaining land systems. Products include wheeled and tracked combat vehicles, wheeled and tracked artillery systems, tactical logistics trucks, unmanned ground vehicles, automatic remote weapon stations and turrets, in addition to integrated logistics support.

Marine systems: SAMI develops integrated maritime defense capabilities that maintain Saudi Arabia's maritime sovereignty. Products include Hazem system, Unmanned Service Vehicles (USV), Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV), and Mine Countermeasure Systems (MCM).

SAMI aspires to rank among the world's top twenty-five defense companies by 2030. Central to this vision is the goal of localizing 50 percent of Saudi Arabia’s military spending by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and top national talent to develop world-class defense products and services, ultimately driving self-sufficiency in the defense sector.

Although Saudi Arabia is one of the top five global spenders on security and defense, its defense expenditure accounts for less than 2 percent of its GDP.

The company aims to contribute more than SAR14 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP), raise the value of the national exports to SAR5 billion, provide more than forty thousand job opportunities in engineering and advanced technologies and more than thirty thousand other indirect opportunities, in addition to establishing SMEs, and investing more than SAR6 billion in scientific research and development.

SAMI has established subsidiaries, including SAMI CMI Defence Systems and SAMI L3HARRIS Technologies, in addition to holding several strategic partnerships with the original manufacturing companies, such as the Aircraft Accessories and Components Company (AACC), as SAMI acquired the majority stake in the company in 2019. Another subsidiary is the SAMI Navantia Naval Industries, and its partnership with Advanced Electronics Company (AEC), which it fully acquired, thus becoming a wholly owned Saudi company in 2019. The company also has several joint ventures, such as its project with the Lockheed Martin Company in February 2021, to collaborate on strengthening the defense and security capabilities of Saudi Arabia and supporting its manufacturing capabilities.

The year 2021 witnessed growth in the company's business, including the completion of the Sarawat project, which involved the manufacture of five new Avante 2200 corvettes for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. Annual revenues increased by 2,407 percent to reach SAR2.6 billion. On the other hand, cumulative contracts and orders exceeded SAR10 billion, while committing to the Saudization rate of 57.7 percent, in accordance with the requirements of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI).

SAMI achieved revenues of SAR130 million through liquidity management, internal lending between the group's companies, and project financing. Its employee base grew by 633 percent, and the number of its team members increased from 341 in 2020 to 2,500 male and female employees in 2022.

SAMI has secured a spot among the world's top one hundred defense companies, as recognized by Defense News, for the second year in a row. The company rose nineteen positions compared to 2022.

In 2022, SAMI ranked fifty-eighth, following a 2.898 percent increase in revenue in 2021 compared to 2020. In 2023, it moved up to seventy-ninth place, reporting revenues of USD900 million for 2022.