The General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) has signed a contract with Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) for development and manufacture of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) under the name 'SkyGuard.'

 

The strategic objective of this signing, lies in building a leading foundational base for technological innovation, both regionally and internationally. 

 

Sami also signed an Agreement with Prince Sultan Defense Studies and Science Research Center (PSDSARC), with the objective of further developing the UAV.

 

SkyGuard is the outcome of numerous R&D efforts, undertaken by the Center and geared towards developing a truly local product, which is satisfactorily compliant with the operational requirements of end Users. 

 

Ultimately, this contributes to the overarching goal of achieving localization of more than 50% of expenditure on defense equipment and services, by the year 2030.

 

The signing ceremony was attended by Governor of Gami Ahmad Al Ohali, Vice Chairman of Sami Dr Ghassan AlShibl, the CEO of Sami Walid Abukhaled, and a number of key executives from the two entities.

 

Al Ohali asserted that this signing is expected to add great value by increasing military readiness within Saudi Arabia’s defence ecosystem, and enhancing both field responsiveness and technical support, as well as expanding high-skilled job creation for Saudi human talent. 

 

Abukhaled said the deal marks a major step towards building a robust local defence ecosystem, comprising indigenous supply chains that satisfy the strategic need to be self-sufficient.

 

Saudi Arabia draws its Vision 2030 target of localization of defense expenditure from its core national priorities, namely military readiness, strategic autonomy, transparency and efficiency of spend, sustainability of local military industries, and interoperability within and across entities, he added.-TradeArabia News Service