Fifteen Spanish companies compete for a slice of Saudi Arabia's military pie
In an international environment unbridled by an accelerated process of global rearmament that, caused by the unpredictable consequences of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, is affecting all the nations of the world, Saudi Arabia has just inaugurated the second edition of the World Defence Show (WDS), the World Defence Exhibition that brings together the cream of manufacturers of weapons systems and military equipment from 4 to 8 February.
Under the slogan "Equipped for tomorrow", the Riyadh International Exhibition and Convention Centre - some 70 kilometres from the centre of the Saudi capital - is bringing together more than 750 exhibitors from some 65 nations to showcase combat-proven products and services, the latest technological and logistical innovations that engineers have developed, and existing weapons systems for which substantial improvements are being considered.
The Spanish industry is represented by some fifteen companies, eleven of them grouped in the national pavilion organised by the Spanish Association of Defence, Security, Aeronautics and Space Technology Companies (TEDAE), a group with a turnover of more than 12.13 billion euros in 2022, according to data from the consultancy firm KPMG.
Hispanic companies and their executives are in Saudi Arabia to compete with companies from all over the world. They are competing for the business and cooperation opportunities offered by the Riyadh government, a huge pie with an investment volume for defence system purchases that will amount to 71.72 billion dollars by 2024. This amount represents an increase of 3.86% over the previous year's budget and is more than five times the size of Spain's defence budget.
The companies exhibiting in the pavilion set up by TEDAE are Aertec, Escribano M&E, Hisdesat, Indra, Instalaza, Iraundi, Navantia, Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, SAES, Tecnobit and Uro, as well as Arquimea and Milanion NTGS, which are on separate stands. They all aspire to consolidate their position in the country, sow the seeds for new sales contracts and find Saudi partners to take on new projects.
Spanish authorities at the WDS
The General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) is advocating attracting investment to create joint ventures in Saudi Arabia. To ensure that by the year 2030, more than 50% of Saudi Arabia's purchases of defence systems, equipment and services have a direct impact on the national economy.
The attendance of Spanish companies at the WDS show is complemented by a visit to the Spanish pavilion and to the event by the Secretary of State for Defence, Amparo Valcarce. This is one of the ways in which Margarita Robles' department is demonstrating the support for the national defence industry provided by the government headed by Pedro Sánchez.
On Monday, 5 February, the head of armaments and materiel policy will head a delegation made up of the director of her Technical Cabinet, Air Lieutenant General Miguel Ivorra; the director general of Armaments and Materiel, Admiral Aniceto Rosique; and the head of the Foreign Support Office (OFICAEX), General César Sáenz de Santa María. It has been confirmed that Valcarce has arranged official meetings with senior authorities from the Saudi Ministry of Defence and GAMI, to finalise contracts and facilitate their presence at the 2025 edition of the FEINDEF exhibition in Madrid.
The Prime Minister of the Riyadh government and heir to the Kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, is promoting the establishment of a growing defence industry, an initiative to increase the nation's military capabilities. One of its consequences is that the Riyadh show has been attended by more than 160 Saudi companies led by the Saudi Arabian Military Industries Corporation, or SAMI, an acronym for Saudi Arabian Military Industries. Founded in 2017, SAMI aims to be among the top 25 defence companies in the world by 2030.
SAMI is the main national sponsor of the second edition of the WDS show in 2024 and its largest exhibitor. It has a pavilion of more than 3,000 square metres, where it is showcasing its extensive offerings in the land, naval, air and space domains. Its executive director, Walid Abukhaled, is taking advantage of the presence in Riyadh of the most important business and institutional executives from the world defence sector to "explore new strategic alliances that contribute to the growth of the settlement in the Kingdom of the largest possible number of military industries".
Technologies showcased by Spanish companies
The large Saudi business network is followed by that of the United States. No less than 102 companies have arrived on the sands of the Arabian Peninsula, accompanied by high-ranking Pentagon officials. Turkey also made a strong showing, with 65 companies, followed by France (43), the United Kingdom (34), China (26) and Italy (13). Germany came with nine companies, mainly electronics companies, given the strict federal regulations for authorising arms exports. None.
Russia is represented by only four entities, but two of them are very important. One is Rosoboronexport, the state organisation that monopolises military sales to third countries. Its stand concentrates the offerings of 20 manufacturers of land, sea and air weapons systems. For example, the T-90MS tank, the extensive range of wheeled and tracked tactical vehicles and the modernised Ilyushin IL-76MD-90A transport aircraft in export version are on display. The other is Roscosmos, which encompasses the products and services offered by the Kremlin's space companies.
Spanish companies are coming to Saudi Arabia to demonstrate the high quality of their products. Aertec with its TARSIS-W drone armed with semi-active laser-guided A-Fox micro-missiles; Escribano with its stabilised and remote-controlled turrets, thermal cameras and ammunition guidance kits. Hisdesat is taking advantage of the occasion to present the Spainsat NG programme, the "most advanced secure communications system in Europe", according to the company; Indra is offering its radar technology, defence electronics, command, control and communications systems and its artificial intelligence initiatives.
Instalaza is offering its wide range of grenade launchers and training systems; Iraundi is focused on the manufacture of special bearings; Navantia, which together with the Saudi company SAMI has set up the SAMI Navantia company, is developing the Hazem combat system for its Navy's new corvettes and whatever comes next; Rheinmetall Expal Munitions is exhibiting its wide range of medium and large calibre explosives and ammunition manufactured in Spain, now that it has been integrated into the German Rheinmetall group since August.
SAES is exhibiting its underwater acoustics and electronics equipment and presenting the evolution of its small unmanned vehicles for defence and critical infrastructure protection; Tecnobit and its group of companies are showcasing their technology for quantum key distribution (QKD), photonics, artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art tactical air, ground, naval and satellite communications. And Uro, which is here to expand its extensive range of highly mobile light all-terrain vehicles in the UK and neighbouring countries.
Arquimea is on a separate stand with its CanarySat project with the Cabildo de Tenerife, a satellite control centre that will be compatible with Arquimea's own BeetleSat constellation and the European Union's IRIS². Also Milanion NTGS, which is showing its Alakran rapid deployment mortar system, already in service with the Indian Army.
