Localization of Military Industries During the Era of Mohammed Bin Salman

Localizing the military industries during the era of Mohammed bin Salman is the efforts of the Crown Prince, Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to enhance the localization of the military industries sector in line with the directives of Saudi Vision 2030, which called for localizing 50 percent of government spending on military equipment and services.

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman worked on developing the Ministry of Defense upon his appointment as its minister, and he led the reform process by setting the steps required for modernization, within the plan of the Ministry of Defense Development Programme to support the military manufacturing sector.

Establishing Saudi Arabian Military Industries

Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) was established on May 17, 2017 as a national entity wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, to develop and support the defense industries in Saudi Arabia and enhance its self-sufficiency by localizing 50 percent of its defense spending within the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, and to work towards becoming one of the world’s top twenty-five defense companies.

Establishing the General Authority for Military Industries

The General Authority for Military Industries was established on August 14, 2017, to become the legislative body for the military industries sector in Saudi Arabia, responsible for regulating it, developing it, and monitoring its performance.

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman chairs the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Military Industries, which is the body responsible for localizing, regulating, and empowering the military industries in Saudi Arabia, and building a local, sustainable military industries sector, aiming to reach a localization rate of more than 50 percent of government spending on military equipment and services by 2030.

Localizing the military industries sector in Saudi Arabia

The General Authority for Military Industries works in an integrated manner with its partners from the public and private sectors to localize the military industries sector in Saudi Arabia by empowering local and international manufacturers, opening licensing channels for them to invest in an attractive military industrial environment that offers high-quality investment opportunities and incentives, and enabling national talents to contribute to supporting the localization journey.

The Authority succeeded in localizing a multi-use surveillance system called “Zarqaa Al Yamamah – Zali”, manufactured by the National Company for Mechanical Systems.

It also launched the “Al Dahna vehicle”, a military armored vehicle manufactured and localized domestically. The first fast interceptor boat of type (HSI32) was also localized and launched, made locally, in addition to launching the first floating dock.

These efforts support the provision of job opportunities in both the public and private sectors, technology transfer, and driving development by boosting non-oil revenues. They also strengthen the role of local small and medium-sized enterprises, to contribute to supporting the Saudi economy more broadly, and to achieve national priorities represented in raising capabilities, developing efficiency, joint operation among all security and military entities, and enabling a sustainable local military industries sector.

According to the 2023 annual report for Saudi Vision 2030, the military industries witnessed a localization rate of 10.4 percent, compared with the baseline of 7.7 percent, exceeding the year’s target of 9 percent, while the Vision target is 50 percent.