LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s leading defense organizations are this week taking part in Defense and Security Equipment International in London, an arms fair that brings together global leaders from the security and military industries.
The General Authority for Military Industries is supporting the pavilion at the event, which includes entities such as Saudi Arabian Military Industries, Saudi Chemical Co. Ltd., Saudi Co. GDC Middle East and the World Defense Show.
Saudi Arabia is currently undergoing significant changes to its defense sector. As part of Vision 2030, it plans to become a global manufacturing and technology hub and localize more than half of its military spending.
A view of Saudi Arabia’s pavilion at the Defense and Security Equipment International arms fair in London. (Bahar Hussain/AN Photo)
Although the Kingdom is one of the world’s major arms importers — sourcing nearly 74 percent of its weapons from the US, with the rest coming from Spain, the UK and France — its spending on foreign weapons fell by almost 41 percent between 2020 and 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
