Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems announced on Feb. 13 that they signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the defense industry with the Saudi Ministry of National Defense during the World Defense Show 2024, a comprehensive defense exhibition in the Middle East held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Kim Young-don, an executive at Hanwha Aerospace, and Abdullah bin Bandar Al Saud, the Saudi Arabian Minister of National Defense, attended the signing ceremony held on Feb. 8. The Saudi National Defense Ministry is an organization separate from the Ministry of Defense, established for protecting territory and borders, managing security, and safeguarding the royal family and Islamic holy sites.
With the latest MOU, Hanwha plans to participate in the Saudi National Defense Ministry’s medium- to long-term acquisition plans across various fields, including ground weapon systems such as armored vehicles as well as surveillance and reconnaissance systems utilizing robots and satellites. Additionally, Hanwha aims to expand cooperation with Saudi Arabia, a country that is actively developing its defense industry, with the objective of locally manufacturing 50 percent of military supplies by 2030.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Saudi Arabia ranked fifth in military expenditures in 2022, spending US$75 billion. This places Saudi Arabia behind the United States, China, Russia, and India. The expenditure accounts for 7.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), making it the second-largest in the world after Ukraine in terms of GDP percentage.
Hanwha stated, “With this MOU, we aim to solidify a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia for the long term, contributing not only to the security of Saudi Arabia but also to industrialization through expansion the defense industry.”