Saudi Military Industries Eye Localization, Tech Transfer Partnerships

Saudi General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Governor Ahmed Al-Ohali at the Defense and Security Equipment International Exhibition (DSEI) in London. (SPA)
Saudi General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Governor Ahmed Al-Ohali at the Defense and Security Equipment International Exhibition (DSEI) in London. (SPA)
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Saudi Military Industries Eye Localization, Tech Transfer Partnerships

Saudi General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Governor Ahmed Al-Ohali at the Defense and Security Equipment International Exhibition (DSEI) in London. (SPA)
Saudi General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Governor Ahmed Al-Ohali at the Defense and Security Equipment International Exhibition (DSEI) in London. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), responsible for localizing, organizing, and empowering the military industries sector in the Kingdom, is participating in the renowned Defense and Security Equipment International Exhibition (DSEI).

The DESI kicked off its activities in London on Tuesday with a broad and global attendance.

At first glance, Saudi participation appears to be related to defense cooperation or striking business with companies. However, when reading the Kingdom’s pavilion slogan, “Invest Saudi,” visitors soon realize that GAMI is looking to attract investments.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, GAMI Governor Ahmed Al-Ohali said that the pavilion looks towards more localization and transferring technology to the Kingdom, as well as expanding international partnerships.

The governor also revealed that GAMI aims to conclude strategic and critical agreements to maximize the role of women in the military industries sector. The authority will do so with Saudi universities and research centers.

“We are committed to completing the march,” Al-Ohali told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that GAMI is relying on the efforts of Saudi men and women to achieve its localization goals.

“Saudi women have strengthened their presence in the sector by engaging in the military-industrial system in the Kingdom,” he revealed, adding that GAMI is “keen on empowering Saudi women.”

He pointed out the unprecedented presence of female engineers and technicians in various disciplines serving this vital sector.

Describing the growth witnessed by GAMI, the governor used the term “remarkable.”

According to Al-Ohali, the number of licensed companies in the first half of 2021 reached 99 local, international, and mixed companies.

He said that these companies want to be a part of the development of the Saudi economy and have decided to pump their funds into the Kingdom based on its strategic location and qualitative capabilities.

Saudi Arabia has also facilitated procedures for foreign investors.

Al-Ohali stressed that the Kingdom’s leadership had given the military industries sector “limitless” support and care to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s strategic independence.

The sector strategy approved by the Saudi Council of Ministers consists of three main pillars.

They include acquisition, industry, and research, and technology.

Al-Ohali confirmed that GAMI is working with all the parties concerned with attracting investment to the Kingdom to ensure that an integrated picture of the investment environment in the Kingdom is presented.

“The Kingdom has become an ideal destination for investment in this sector in particular and the rest of the other industrial sectors in general,” stressed Al-Ohali.

“We worked with partners and came up with 74 investment opportunities related to localization in supply chains across six defense and security areas,” he remarked.

“We met with more than 350 investors and partners to identify these opportunities, and we worked side by side with our partners in the public and private sectors to develop a clear roadmap for industrial targets in the sector,” noted Al-Ohali.

As for Saudi Arabia’s participation in the DSEI, he said it aims at shedding light on the promising investment opportunities in the sector, supporting investors, and facilitating their access to the Saudi military and security industries market.

He added that the military industries system in Saudi Arabia, represented by GAMI and all its public and private sector partners, realize the strategic goal of localizing the military industries in Saudi Arabia with more than 50% of the country’s expenditure on military equipment and services by 2030.

Saudi Arabia’s participation at the DSEI event is expected to unlock the Middle East opportunity for UK firms. A senior-level delegation will be at the DSEI Saudi Pavilion to highlight opportunities in the Gulf defense show market.

Several high-level dignitaries and leaders, and key executives of large multinationals are set to visit the Saudi Pavilion, which will showcase a comprehensive portfolio of defense systems and solutions.



Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
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Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthis are in disarray over escalating American strikes targeting military and security sites, as well as weapons depots belonging to them, Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani said, revealing that the group has lost nearly 30% of its military capabilities.

Al-Eryani told Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent strikes have directly hit "the military capabilities of the Houthi group, targeting mainly infrastructure related to ballistic missiles and drones, which were used to threaten international maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden."

US President Donald Trump had ordered the start of the military campaign against the Houthis on March 15, pledging to destroy their capabilities.

In the past four weeks, the Houthis have been hit by 365 air and naval strikes, field reports said. The campaign has been primarily targeting fortified bunkers and military warehouses, especially in the group's strongholds in the governorates of Saada, Sanaa, Amran, and Hodeidah.

"Our assessment, based on our field sources, is that the militia has lost 30% of its capabilities, and this number is rising as military operations continue,” Al-Eryani said.

The minister also spoke of "surprises” that will please Yemenis in the coming weeks.

Trump said Monday that the US campaign against the Houthis has been “very successful militarily.”

“We’ve really damaged them,” he said, adding that “we’ve gotten many of their leaders and their experts.”

The Yemeni Minister of Information considered the powerful strikes “as not enough to end the Houthi threat, especially since the militia is still receiving logistical support from Iran through multiple smuggling routes."

Last week, Britain’s The Telegraph quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Iran had ordered military personnel to leave Yemen to avoid direct confrontation with the US.

Al-Eryani called for “keeping military, political, and economic pressure” on the Houthis and increasing control on the sources that provide arms to the Houthis. He also called for “supporting the legitimate forces to enable them to take control of all Yemeni territory."
Al-Eryani confirmed that the Houthis have recently suffered significant human losses at various leadership levels, yet the militias have avoided announcing such losses for fear of undermining the morale of their fighters.

Last month, Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the country’s armed forces and all military formations were at a high state of readiness to respond firmly to any Houthi attacks or provocations.

Al-Daeri said the Houthis bear full responsibility for the recent escalation, the imposition of international sanctions, and the militarization of regional waters, which have worsened the humanitarian and economic situation for Yemenis.