Sami on SAUDI VISION 2030 Intelligence Platform

Defence and Military Industries

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This section examines Saudi Arabia’s defence and military industries under Vision 2030, including the 50 percent localisation target for military equipment spending. Coverage includes the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) portfolio, the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) regulatory framework, aerospace and unmanned systems, naval shipbuilding, land systems, defence electronics, offset requirements, and joint venture structures with international defence primes.

Sector Overview

Localising One of the World’s Largest Defence Budgets

Saudi Arabia is among the world’s largest defence spenders, consistently ranking in the global top five by military expenditure. Historically, the vast majority of this spending has flowed to foreign defence contractors, with the Kingdom importing virtually all of its military equipment, platforms, weapons systems, and support services. Vision 2030 set an ambitious target to reverse this dynamic: localise 50 percent of military spending by 2030, creating a domestic defence manufacturing industry that captures a substantial share of the defence budget while building industrial capabilities with both military and civilian applications.

Gap Alert: Defence Spending Localisation 50% Target

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Saudi Defence Localisation Gap: Vision 2030 KPI

This tracker measures the Saudi defence localisation gap against the Vision 2030 KPI of localising 50% of military spending by 2030.

Metric	Value
Current Value	~18-20% localised
2030 Target	50% of defence spending
Gap	~30 percentage points
Required Annual Rate	~7.5 pp per year
Years Remaining	4
Risk Level	High

Analysis

Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest defence spenders, with annual military expenditure exceeding USD 65 billion. The Vision 2030 target to localise 50% of this spending represents both an economic diversification ambition and a strategic sovereignty objective. At baseline, the Kingdom imported the vast majority of its military equipment, with domestic defence industrial content estimated at below 5%. By 2025, localisation has risen to an estimated 18-20%, driven by the establishment of Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), and a growing network of defence joint ventures with international partners.

Investing in Saudi Defence

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Saudi defence sector investment is shaped by SAMI’s role as national industrial champion, GAMI’s licensing regime, and Vision 2030’s mandate to localise 50 percent of military equipment spending by 2030. For foreign contractors, the opportunity is tied to joint ventures, offsets, MRO, technology transfer, and Saudi supply-chain participation.

Market Overview

Saudi Arabia is consistently among the world’s top five defence spenders, with an annual military budget of approximately SAR 270-300 billion (USD 72-80 billion). The Kingdom has historically been almost entirely dependent on imports for its defence equipment and services, sourcing from the United States, United Kingdom, France, and other allied nations.

SAMI (Saudi Arabian Military Industries)

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SAMI (Saudi Arabian Military Industries): Saudi Arabia

SAMI (Saudi Arabian Military Industries) is the PIF-owned national defence company established in 2017 to develop and manufacture military equipment inside Saudi Arabia.

For the query “SAMI,” the key point is that the company is Vision 2030’s main industrial vehicle for localizing 50 percent of Saudi military spending by 2030, moving procurement from imports toward domestic manufacturing, maintenance, and technology transfer.

Overview

Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest defence spenders, historically importing the vast majority of its military equipment from the United States, United Kingdom, France, and other allied nations. SAMI was established to reverse this dependence by building a domestic defence manufacturing industry capable of producing and maintaining advanced military systems within the Kingdom.

Saudi Automotive Industry

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The Saudi automotive industry is moving from a large import-led vehicle market into an early manufacturing ecosystem built around electric vehicles, assembly plants, and supplier localisation. The Kingdom is the largest automotive market in the Gulf Cooperation Council, with annual new-vehicle registrations above six hundred thousand units, but until recently it had limited domestic production capacity. Vision 2030’s industrial diversification mandate, channelled through the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme (NIDLP), has catalysed Lucid, Ceer, Hyundai, and component-supply investments intended to make Saudi Arabia a regional automotive manufacturing hub.

Saudi Defence Companies

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Saudi defence companies are being built into a strategic industrial base under Vision 2030, with the objective of localising fifty per cent of military spending by 2030. As one of the world’s largest defence spenders, the Kingdom represents an enormous domestic market opportunity for defence manufacturers, and the development of indigenous production capabilities is intended to reduce import dependence, create high-value employment, develop advanced manufacturing skills, and generate potential export revenue. The sector is regulated by the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) and anchored by Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the PIF-owned national defence conglomerate.

Saudi Defence Manufacturing

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Saudi Arabia Defence Manufacturing

Saudi Arabia defence manufacturing under SAMI and Vision 2030 is shifting the Kingdom from near-total dependence on imported military equipment toward a domestic industrial base capable of producing, maintaining, and eventually exporting defence systems. Vision 2030 establishes an explicit target of localizing 50 percent of military equipment spending — one of the most ambitious defence industrialization targets among major defence procurement nations. This objective is being pursued through Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), and a comprehensive programme of international partnerships, technology transfers, and greenfield manufacturing investments.