A total of 150 Black Hawk helicopters similar to this will be produced by a joint venture between the Saudi Arabia’s defense industry and the US defense giant Lockheed Martin. (Courtesy of Lockheed Martin website)
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1254296/saudi-arabia
DUBAI: As many as 640 new technology jobs are being created in Saudi Arabia as a result of a joint venture being pursued between the Kingdom’s defense industry and the American defense giant Lockheed Martin to build Blackhawk helicopters with local employees.
The agreement to establish a joint venture — known as Rotary Aircraft Manufacturing Saudi Arabia (RAMSA) — was signed as part of the big package of defense industry deals announced during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Kingdom last May, but the number of jobs now envisaged is higher than first expected.
Alan Chinoda, the chief executive of Lockheed’s Saudi business, revealed the job creation package in an interview with Arab News ahead of the Armed Forces Exhibition for Diversity of Requirements and Capabilities (AFED), which opened in Riyadh on Sunday.
“We’ve created a joint venture to produce 150 Blackhawks in the Kingdom, which is a tremendous opportunity. It will create a whole new technology eco-system and will involve the transfer of technology as well as jobs. The infrastructure to support that in Saudi Arabia is good,” he said.
The deal to create RAMSA is just one aspect of an expanding relationship between the Americans and Saudi Arabia under the Trump presidency.
There are also plans to develop the THAAD missile defense system, supply of new combat ships to the Saudi Navy, and finalizing of the Arabsat 6A satellite, which could be launched by the end of this year.
“There has been a change since the Trump visit. The business environment has picked up and has been a lot more cordial. It was a big thing for Trump to have his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia,” Chinoda said.
He emphasized, however, that
Lockheed’s relationship with the Kingdom — in place since it supplied Hercules aircraft in 1965 — was not just about supplying expensive military equipment.
“We are looking for local partners across a diverse spectrum to work with us on our systems and programs. It is not just about selling. We want partners we can depend on and see this show (AFED) as the perfect opportunity to talk to potential partners.
“There are some potential partners that can so support and assembly but we need to help get them up to the standard we require,” he said.
Lockheed,
which has done business in Saudi Arabia for more than five decades, is partnering with the aeronautics arm of the Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company (Taqnia) on the RAMSA project for the Blackhawks.
Lockheed has long-term relationships with
Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Electronics Co. (AEC) on the Sniper repair capability, in one of the largest assembly facilities outside the US, and has held talks with Saudi Arabian Military Industries, the new corporation set up to develop indigenous skills in the military manufacturing business.
It is also working on the
PAC-3, the latest version on the Patriot air defense missile that has recently been used to counter hostile missile attacks against Riyadh and other places in Saudi Arabia.
The four new warships — described as “lethal and highly maneuverable multi-mission” vessels — were announced last year as part of a $28 billion program of deals during the Trump visit. The US Navy awarded Lockheed the contract to work on the ships for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces.
The Arabsat 6A satellite is the second to be developed for Saudi Arabia by Lockheed, and is described as the “most advanced commercial communications satellite we’re ever built” by Lockheed.
The satellite has been assembled in the US and shipped to Lockheed’s facility in Sunnyvale, California, for final tests before a possible launch in 2018.
That deal has involved 10 young Saudi technicians being trained at Lockheed’s facilities in the US.
Chinoda, who has been with Lockheed in the region since 2011, said that there had been an improvement recently in the ease of doing business in the Kingdom. “With Vision 2030 and everything the Saudi government is looking at, they have been trying to assist the way we do business in the Kingdom, especially with things like visas, which are now much easier.
“The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) reached out to us to help us do business more efficiently. There is a definite momentum and a movement for positive change,” he said.
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http://www.arabnews.com/node/1254301/saudi-arabia
The latest developments in military products and technology are on display at the Armed Forces Exhibition for Diversity of Requirements and Capabilities (AFED 2018), on Sunday in Riyadh. (AN photo)
RIYADH: Gen. Abdul Rahman bin Saleh Al-Bunyan, chief of staff of the Saudi armed forces, inaugurated a major defense exhibition on Sunday on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
On behalf of Turkey, the guest-of-honor country at the Armed Forces Exhibition for Diversity of Requirements and Capabilities (AFED 2018), Prof. Ismail Demir, chief of the Turkish defense industry, participated in the inaugural ceremony.
The exhibition is an important government initiative. “Spread over seven days, AFED 2018 is showcasing the latest developments in military products and technology,” said Maj. Gen. Attiya Al-Maliki, an AFED spokesman. “This fourth edition of AFED shows an increase in the number of exhibitors and displayed products.”
Referring to the participation and achievements of the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the state-owned Saudi defense company, Dr. Andreas Schwer, SAMI chief executive, said: “Saudi Arabia is one of the top five countries in the world in terms of military spending, and the establishment of SAMI was an ambitious step as part of the country’s strategy to localize and globalize its military manufacturing industry.”
Schwer said: “SAMI’s participation will open up doors for future long-term partnerships, laying the cornerstone for SAMI to localize 50 percent of government military spending, and become one of the top 25 military industry companies in the world.
“With a strategic framework in place, SAMI aims to contribute around SR14 billion ($3.73 billion) directly to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP), increase the value of national exports by about SR5 billion, invest over SR6 billion for research and development, and create over 40,000 direct jobs locally, by the year 2030.”
Referring to the Turkish participation in AFED and the possibilities of a tie-up with Saudi companies, especially SAMI, Prof. Demir said: “Saudi Arabia announced that Turkey is the first guest-of-honor country at the AFED, making it an international exhibition, which has been held at the national level before. This decision reflects the deep historical relations and close cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia,” he said, referring to the participation of 25 top-notch Turkish companies in the exhibition.
He added: “Within this framework, it is a pleasure for the leading Turkish defense industry firms, which have developed significant capabilities at designing and producing major defense platforms and systems in line with the procurement projects and needs of the Turkish armed forces, to demonstrate their products and capabilities at AFED 2018. The aims of AFED are to gather Turkish defense industry companies with their Saudi counterparts in order to seek and explore joint production opportunities and deepen the already strong cooperation between the two countries within the framework of Vision 2030.”
Prof. Demir said that the high participation and strong interest of the Turkish defense industry firms in the exhibition demonstrated their sincere will and importance attached to cooperation with Saudi Arabia. As a result of large investments in the defense industry of Turkey, the number of the country’s defense projects has reached 600 at a size of $60 billion, and the defense industry has reached a production capacity of more than $6 billion per year and an export capacity of $2 billion as of today.
Several ministers and diplomats including Minister of Labor and Social Development Ali Al-Ghafis, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah A. Al-Sawahah; and Turkish Ambassador Erdogan Kok attended the inaugural ceremony.
