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2022-04-01

Deals Worth SAR 29.7bn Recorded at Inaugural WDS

The four-day inaugural edition of the World Defense Show (WDS) held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, proved to be a roaring success bringing together 600 defence and security exhibitors from 42 countries and recording SAR 29.7bn in deals before concluding on March 9.

Founded by the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), the show focused on defence interoperability received 80 military delegations, 65,000 visits and representation from 85 countries.

Ahmad Al Ohali, Governor of GAMI said: “From its first edition, World Defense Show established itself as one of the top defence and security shows in the world, which reflects the Kingdom’s position as a global driver of collaboration, innovation and business opportunities. The networking, knowledge sharing and commercial relationships established through the WDS platform will spur a new era of investment and growth for Saudi Arabia’s defence and security industry bringing us closer to achieving our target of localising more than 50 per cent of the Kingdom’s military expenditure by 2030.”

The 2022 edition was packed with industry-leading networking programmes and demonstrations. From creating business opportunities through the “Meet the buyer” programme to thought-provoking programmes such as International Women in Defense and Future Talent, the show paved the way for further collaboration, sector growth and human capital development.

The WDS was tailored to provide a unique platform for networking, collaboration, knowledge-sharing and the discovery of new innovations. A tailored Meet the Buyer programme hosted up to 600 meetings, connecting buyers and suppliers, from companies that covered all major areas of the global defence industry, through pre-arranged, face-to-face meetings.

Another flagship networking programme was Meet the KSA Government Program, highlighting opportunities in Saudi Arabia for investors to meet with key local defence players and learn more about the industry’s strategy, objectives, tendering and procurement guidelines as well as partnership requirements.

Spanning across an 800,000 sqm site, the Show featured three large exhibition halls, outdoor exhibit spaces, a dedicated interoperability demonstration area, a purpose-built 3km-long runway and space for static aircraft.

A dedicated Start-Up Zone hosted the latest technologies driven by small and medium companies from around the world – playing host to an exclusive networking environment to introduce SME products to industry decision-makers, investors and venture capital firms.

On International Women’s Day, leading women in defence gathered at a special event to celebrate, promote, and accelerate participation in the defence industry. The full-day event featured keynote presentations and interactive panel discussions, to advocate for, and connect with the diverse voices of today’s defence community.

Localisation Projects

GAMI announced its approval of two localisation projects: the first, for localising the manufacture of missile interceptor launchers, and the second for producing the missile interceptor canisters locally. In collaboration with Lockheed Martin, these projects fall under the programme for localisation of the THAAD Weapon System.

Such projects serve GAMI’s strategy to bolster relations with its international partners from across the globe along the Kingdom’s localisation journey, with the ultimate target of localising more than 50 per cent of expenditure on defence equipment and services by the year 2030.

Gasem Al-Maimani, GAMI Deputy Governor, Military Industry, stated that the two localisation projects, were in further service of this promising sector’s national priorities.

He noted that the project supported investment in building indigenous national capabilities, via empowering new and up-and-coming manufacturing entities, as well as leveraging the integration of efforts with large national companies, to secure their position of prominence globally.

Airbus-stc’s Digital Push

Airbus and Saudi Telecom Company (stc) signed an agreement to explore key areas of cooperation focusing on mission-critical communication solutions.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked by Adel Fekih, CEO of Airbus Saudi Limited, and Badr Alghamdi, stc’s General Manager of Strategic and Government Partnerships who oversees the company’s B2B strategic partnerships and government programmes.

Fekih said: “The partnership between Airbus and stc is another milestone in our efforts to strengthen our foothold in the Saudi market and the rest of the region. The MoU will pave the way for the two sides to work closely together to offer mission- and business-critical communication solutions with innovative features.”

Sultan bin Saeed, B2B strategy and performance VP, stc said: “We aim to deliver technologies that can better serve our society and accelerate Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation. Our agreement will allow us to increase our contributions to the Saudi Government’s bid to shift to a digital economy.”

Navantia’s Technology Boost

Spanish shipbuilder and systems integrator Navantia has partnered with Advanced Electronics Company (AEC), a SAMI company, to boost technology development in KSA.

Navantia is a state-owned company widely experienced in ship design, construction, and integration of surface combatants, submarines, naval auxiliaries, and associated systems for the naval and merchant market, and is the designer and builder of five Avante 2200 corvettes for Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF). AEC is focused on developing, designing, manufacturing, selling, and supporting military systems and is a strategic partner of RSNF.

The two companies will explore potential collaboration related to the maintenance and overhaul of Navantia systems and new business opportunities in Saudi Arabia.

To launch this cooperation, Navantia and AEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding during WDS 2022.

The MoU represents a further step in the relationship between Navantia and SAMI. Both companies have created a joint venture to develop, integrate and market the first Saudi Combat System: Hazem. The already fully operational company, called SAMI-Navantia, was awarded a contract in September 2019 for the supply and integration of the combat system of the five Avante 2200 corvettes currently under construction for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces.

MARSS’ UAS - A Game-changer

Defence & security technology specialist MARSS, launched its latest UAS countermeasure at WDS.

MARSS has created an AI enabled autonomous interceptor that offers an intelligent, cost-effective and low collateral solution to neutralise hostile drones. Fully integrated with NiDAR CUAS, this high-speed craft is capable of defeating category I & II drones head on from up to 5km+.

Using a range of sensors to accurately detect, verify and respond to UAS threats, NiDAR C4i Operators can launch this new, incredibly agile system to defeat fast, high manoeuvring targets head on.

Stephen Scott, Head of R&D for Defence at the company, commented: “UAS threats are ever evolving and proliferating in today’s battlefield. Their autonomous nature, flight capability and payload ensure higher levels of operational efficiency and target devastation. Recent history has demonstrated C-UAS system providers must continuously develop new solutions to keep ahead of the threat, with speed, responsiveness and agility being key.”

In-Kingdom Partnership

Draken Europe and SNC ICT announced their long-term in-Kingdom partnership at WDS. SNC ICT’s provision of in-Kingdom logistics support, system network services and supply chain management will be central to Draken’s plans for expansion in the Middle East.

Paul Armstrong, Draken Europe CEO, explained: “We have been working with the team at SNC ICT for several years, and the opportunity to announce formally our partnership at the inaugural WDS is great news for both of our teams. Having SNC ICT as in-Kingdom partner will be of enormous benefit to us as we look to broaden our services in Saudi Arabia.”

General Mahmoud Hassainan, chairman of SNC ICT, commented: “Draken Europe is a company that places great value on service, innovation and delivery, all values that we share at SNC ICT. As a company they are notably enthusiastic about the development of indigenous capabilities in-Kingdom, clearly in alignment with Vision 2030.”

Taqnia Tie-up

Taqnia ETS and Taqnia Space – subsidiaries of Taqnia; the PIF owned company – signed an MoU with Star.Vision Hangzhou LTD to collaborate on the development of innovative space technologies, satellites, artificial intelligence technologies and geospatial products.

Eng. Abdulaziz S. Al-Farraj CEO of Taqnia ETS, Dr. Faisal Al-Harbi CEO of Taqnia Space and Fan Lianghua Co-founder & Vice President of Star.Vison signed the MoU at WDS.

The MoU establishes the framework for the three parties to engage in collaborative research and development to introduce localised innovative services and products that will support the strategic space and geospatial industry in Saudi Arabia and the region.

Tekever’s Drone Deal

Tekever, the European leader in drone-based Maritime Surveillance, and the U.S.-based company Viasat, a provider of communication technologies and services, have entered into a strategic and commercial partnership aimed at expanding Tekever drone-based intelligence-as-a-service globally, with advanced satellite communications.

“Over the past years, we’ve developed a deep technical and operational partnership with Viasat. Together, we pushed the boundaries of what was possible in civilian BRLOS (Beyond Radio Line-of-Sight) operations, bringing Intelligence-as-a-Service capability to areas that previously could only be reached by manned assets or super expensive military drones. The strategic alliance between Viasat and Tekever aims at making this revolutionary service available worldwide,” said Ricardo Mendes, Tekever CEO.

“Viasat and Tekever have the ability to provide complementary systems that meet the end user’s requirements: Tekever provides an advanced but highly compact system that supports an efficient and cost-effective service, Viasat provides widely available satellite communications network to support them to fly these unmanned missions across very wide areas. It’s a win-win match”, added Chris Moore, Viasat’s business unit director for UAS ISR.

Thuraya’s Push-to-Talk Solution

Thuraya Telecommunications Company, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC, launched its new IP-based radio communications solution, Thuraya Push-to-Talk (PTT) at WDS.

Thuraya PTT has been developed with Cobham Satcom, a market-leading provider of satellite communications solutions to the maritime and land markets. The solution will enable users across a wide spectrum of industries to extend the range of their voice communications beyond line of sight (BLOS) wherever their assets and teams are located.

Thuraya PTT is an IP-based radio communications solution that works in conjunction with any Thuraya Broadband terminal to establish a private network. It gives users the ability to combine and integrate different technologies such as 3G/LTE/LMR (Land Mobile Radio) via Thuraya’s advanced satellite system for seamless voice and data communications.

Maritime Satcoms Accord

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC, the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider, announced that its government division, Yahsat Government Solutions (YGS), had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Al Seer Marine PJSC, the leading maritime company in the region, to test line-fitting unmanned vessels with advanced Comms-on-the-Move (COTM) satellite communications solutions.

The MoU was signed by Eisa Al Shamsi, General Manager of YGS, and Holger Schulte-Hillen, Chief Operating Officer of Al Seer Marine and announced at the WDS.

Yahsat’s advanced satellite communications solutions will be jointly offered to customers to support critical operations such as Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) protection, security, anti-piracy, anti-human trafficking, and coastal patrol.

The MoU will enable Al Seer Marine to build on Yahsat’s extensive experience in delivering highly secure satellite communications services for safety and security mission-critical applications such as COTM and BLOS.

Yahsat, EDGE Team Up

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company’s (Yahsat) government division, Yahsat Government Solutions (YGS), agreed with EDGE Group entity, NIMR, a leading manufacturer of combat-proven wheeled military vehicles, to line-fit pre-qualified Comms-On-The-Move (COTM) solutions on NIMR’s vehicular systems.

The agreement was announced at the WDS and builds on the partnership formed between the entities by the signing of a MoU at the International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) 2021 in Abu Dhabi.

By pre-testing and integrating Yahsat’s COTM solutions on various connected vehicular systems, Yahsat has been able to remove risks and unwanted costs associated with system integration for its customers. Through the agreement, Yahsat will leverage NIMR’s network and existing relationship with the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to extend its reach and increase customer acquisition.

Ma’aden Highlights Key Role

Mining giant Ma’aden highlighted at Saudi Arabia’s inaugural WDS how the Kingdom’s metals and minerals industry supports full-scale localisation of equipment manufacturing amid Vision 2030 plans to spur indigenous growth.

Sixty per cent of the new companies licensed by GAMI in the first half of 2021 were manufacturers that require large volumes of high-quality strategic metals—such as aluminium, copper and zinc—that are key components in Ma’aden’s portfolio.

Robert Wilt, CEO of Ma’aden, commented: “Ma’aden is closely aligned with the Saudi government’s aim to leverage the Kingdom’s estimated US$1.3 billion mineral endowment to grow the local manufacturing sector and increase exports of non-oil products.”

New User Interface

Interstellar Solutions is a new Saudi technology company based out of Riyadh. It has set its sights on becoming a major player in the Defence ERP domain.

The latest version known as G21-360V was announced at WDS before an audience of senior active military personnel as well as retired officers and some commercial entities.

G21-360V is set to be deployed with current Defence and Government customers in the Kingdom. It will give commanders and decision makers 360 degrees of visibility of their resources and assets.

The new user interface which is much more intuitive and user friendly will enable the end users to do their job more efficiently and streamline all their day-to-day tasks.

Successful Show

Over four days, the show proved to be a huge success effectively focussing on military interoperability across air, land, sea, security and satellite defence systems.

The final day of the show opened its doors to 5,000 talented Saudi students from the Kingdom’s best STEM institutions for the Future Talent Program. The programme connected participants to career opportunities and apprenticeship programmes in the defence and security sectors, offering young professionals valuable advice to kickstart and progress their careers.

The next edition is set to take place from 3 – 6 March 2024.

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