US, Saudi plans defence project

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US, Saudi plans defence project​

Thursday, February 22, 2007

The US is planning to jointly produce tank components, light armoured vehicles and other products in Saudi Arabia, according to a senior US military official.

'Our biggest co-production project in the Middle East is in Egypt, where we jointly produced 1025 M1A1 tanks,' Brigadier General Clinton Anderson, head of the US Army's Security Assistance Command, is quoted to have said in the Gulf News.

'In Saudi Arabia we are still in the planning phase, though the project initially will not be as big as what we have in Egypt, but there is good potential for growth there,' Even though no co-production projects have been planned with the UAE, relations and cooperation between the two countries are excellent.'

The US has 32 co-production programmes with other countries and their total value exceeds $32 billion, the report added.

With growing security concerns, Anderson said, demand for air-defence systems and infrastructure protection have surged in the region.

'The clients in the Middle East have become more sophisticated and very specific in their needs, with infrastructure, such as oil production facilities and power production plants, in dire need of protection,' said director of the US Strix Consultancy Clifford Beal is quoted to have said in the report.

The US army encourages government-to-government arms sales through the Foreign Military Sales scheme, under which 3.8 per cent of the cost is added to the contracts for maintenance, rather than a manufacturer's direct deal with foreign governments.

http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snDEF_article119389.html