The forum at Hilton Riyadh gathered representatives from Saudi Arabian Military Industries, NCMS, Life Shield, Raytheon Saudi Arabia, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems, highlighting growing local-global collaboration in Saudi Arabia’s defense manufacturing ecosystem.

Al-Khorayef urged reassessing supply chains, boosting domestic production, and forming new industrial partnerships to attract international manufacturers, enable technology transfer, and access regional markets.

GAMI, founded in 2017, regulates Saudi Arabia’s military industries sector, with its board chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman serving as vice chairman.

NCMS outlined services beyond R&D, including designing and delivering manufacturing facilities and training local professionals to operate and maintain them, reinforcing resilient local supply chains and quality standards.

Acting GAMI Governor Bandar Al-Khorayef stressed government-private sector cooperation to build a competitive, sustainable domestic military industry amid shifts in the global defense market and advances in AI, robotics, and autonomous systems.

The forum, organized by GAMI at Hilton Riyadh, focused on Developing and Sustaining Investment in the Military Industries Sector and featured ministerial panels, supply chain discussions, and participation from both local and international defense players.

Hisham Alsharif of the National Company for Mechanical Systems urged closer collaboration between universities, research centers, and manufacturers to turn engineering prototypes into market-ready, certified end-user solutions.

Clutton noted ongoing collaborations with the Royal Saudi Air Force and Royal Saudi Naval Forces, including maintenance and training support across multiple platforms.

Steve Clutton of BAE Systems Saudi Arabia welcomed the Excellence Award for BAE Systems Arabian Industries, highlighting contributions to Saudization and national sovereignty through local defense capabilities.

GAMI reported that the military industries sector contributed 7.468 billion riyals ($1.99 billion) to GDP in 2025, with a goal to localize more than 50% of military spending by 2030.

By end-2025, Saudi Arabia’s military spending localization rose to 27.3% from 4% in 2018, as announced at the Military Industries Forum in Riyadh.