Saudi Arabia’s Surprising New Military Goals
(Forbes)- Saudi Arabia finally announced its much-hyped Saudi Vision 2030. According to its architect, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the strategy will eventually wean Saudi Arabia off of its “addiction” to oil.
However, nestled in the plans to restructure Saudi Aramco, fundamentally alter the Kingdom’s subsidy program and create the largest Public Investment Fund on the planet are some surprising goals to develop a Saudi military industry. According to Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is the third largest purchaser of defense and military equipment but builds only 2% of that domestically.
How does the Kingdom plan to build a defense industry essentially from nothing? The same way Saudi Arabia built its successful oil industry and its successful construction industry: by investing in foreign technology and talent and bringing outsiders into the Kingdom to teach Saudis the skills they need to own and operate these industries in the future. This model has proven successful for the Saudis in the past and they clearly see no reason to deviate from it.
Ultimately, the Kingdom would like to localize 50% of the military equipment it buys. Specifically, Saudi Arabia seeks “direct investment and strategic partnerships with leading companies in this sector.” To accomplish this, the Kingdom intends to negotiate new military contracts to include local manufacturing elements. While Saudi Arabia may not be building its own brand of fighter jets by 2030, it could certainly become a major supplier of guns, ammunition, or other small scale military equipment by then.
The more important question here is why defense manufacturing? Despite the prevailing narrative in the West, the Saudis think more like businessmen than government bureaucrats or religious fanatics. Although Mohammad bin Salman only discussed satisfying domestic demand, clearly the Saudis see a market to supply their growing collection of military allies in the region. With Iran’s military aspirations on the rise and the continued threat of ISIS, Saudi Arabia has been busy lining up Middle-Eastern allies for the past several months. Some in the Middle East see the beginning of a “NATO-like” military alliance, with corresponding economic agreements.
Recently, King Salman has actively improved ties with other major Middle-Eastern powers: Egypt, Turkey and Jordan. Turkey and Egypt have not been on good terms, as Turkey supported the deposed Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt. Jordan had pivoted away from Saudi Arabia after King Salman ascended to the throne. Now, however, all four parties seem willing to put aside disagreements and enter Saudi Arabia’s orbit.