Page 8 - ADT FEBRUARY - MARCH 2021 Online Magazine

had established two new entities in 2017--the the military industrial sector. It has four main units: aeronautics, [ ANALYSIS ]
General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), land systems, weapons and missiles, and defence electronics.
a financially and administratively independent The government aims to grow SAMI to become one of the top-25
entity chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin military industrial companies in the world by 2030. SAMI plans to
Salman, and Saudi Arabian Military Industries achieve these objectives by acquiring existing Saudi defence firms
(SAMI), a national holding company for domes- and pursuing joint ventures with the industry’s leading international
tic military manufacturing, which is 100 per cent original equipment manufacturers. In addition to SAMI, a range of
owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). domestic, privately owned companies are expected to contribute
to localisation include GDC Middle East, The Helicopter Company
GAMI’s core responsibilities include ensuring and the Saudi Rotorcraft Support Company.
localisation goals are met, promoting mili-
tary spending efficiency, and developing the The 2019 attack on the country’s Abqaiq and Khurais oil facili-
industry through centralised research and ties brought a renewed focus to the defence sector, placing it at
development (R&D). The body has identified 11 forefront the country’s priorities. In December 2019 Saudi Arabia
initial priority sectors for localisation, including announced that US$48.5 billion, or 18 per cent of its 2020 budget,
defence electronics, guided munitions, missiles would be allocated towards military spending. According to the
and launchers, and unmanned aerial vehicles. SIPRI Arms Transfer Database, Saudi Arabia was the world’s larg-
GAMI has also been tasked with developing a est arms importer in 2015-19, accounting for 12 per cent of global
regulatory framework to support the localisa- arms imports. This represented a 130 per cent increase on the
tion of investment, procurement and R&D, in previous five years. During that period the U.S. and the U.K. were
addition to increasing transparency. the Kingdom’s leading sources of imports, accounting for 73 per
cent and 13 per cent of total arms imports, respectively.
Meanwhile, SAMI is targeting the development
of new and existing local industries with the aim “In past couple of years, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have ramped up
of developing new technologies, manufacturing efforts to increase indigenous military capabilities. Two regional fac-
products and providing services to scale up tors drive this new impetus. First, the 2014 fall of oil prices revived
government efforts to reform national economies and diversify
their sources of income. In this context, building an indigenous
military industry not only creates jobs but can also support long-
term economic development, for instance in the field of education
and research. This is why strengthening local defence companies
features prominently in documents such as Saudi Vision 2030
or Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030," according to Jean-Loup
Samaan, Associate Professor in Strategic Studies attached to the
UAE National Defense College. Other Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) countries such as Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain have not pri-
oritised building a defence industrial base. While Qatar invested
massively in its military apparatus in past few years, the investment
has not significantly localised its defence industry. "It appears
the rise of the Emirati defence industry might end up an isolated
phenomenon," noted Jean-Loup Samaan.

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