Scope and limits of Saudi Arabia Military’s strategy

Considering its significant investment in defence, Saudi Arabia’s attempts to create a national arms industry capable of supplying equipment to the Saudi military have historically produced limited results. To change this, Riyadh designed in 2017 a public strategy named “Vision 2030” for economic reorganization and diversification with a military-industrial component. This research paper provides an overview of the issues related to this ambition of Riyadh. It presents the main determinants of the arms market, emphasizing the profile and characteristics of the supply. It also provides an overview of the situation of Saudi Arabia in terms of arms supply from 1970 to 2010. Finally, it sets out the process of developing military production capabilities over the last decade.

Photo credit : Wikimedias Commons. Saqr-1, first saudi armed drone developed by  KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology).