Saudi Arabia, which is promoting military modernization projects, is becoming a battleground for global defense corporations. Saudi Arabia is reviewing a wide range of weapon systems from various countries. South Korea is also making efforts to export the majority of its weapon systems.
According to foreign press including Reuters on the 16th, the White House noted that on the 13th (local time), 12 U.S. defense corporations signed a weapon system service sales transaction worth $142 billion (approximately 198 trillion won) with Saudi Arabia. Although the White House did not disclose specific companies included in the transaction, foreign press reported that it is likely to have included Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet and C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, the largest defense corporation in the U.S. This weapon transaction is part of the strategic economic partnership agreement worth $600 billion (approximately 850 trillion won) that President Trump announced was signed the day before.
Due to limitations in Saudi Arabia’s defense budget, if the U.S. enters into large-scale contracts, the remaining quantity will decrease. There are also claims that the scale of the economic partnership agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia has been exaggerated. The New York Times reported that “the total value of the business contracts disclosed by the U.S. government totaled $283 billion, which is half of the $600 billion figure.” Reuters noted that “it is unclear how many of the transactions in the $142 billion weapon deal are new contracts.”
Saudi Arabia is currently a battleground for global defense. Saudi Arabia requires modernization of land, sea, and air weapon systems, as well as technological cooperation for production infrastructure and military advancement, leading the industry to expect that the contract amounts will be large.
Defense corporations from around the world have jumped in to export weapons to Saudi Arabia. In the aviation sector, France’s Dassault Rafale, the U.S. F-35, and South Korea’s KF-21 have all participated, indicating that competition is fierce.
The same goes for land weapons and vessels. Domestic companies, including Hanwha Aerospace, as well as the three defense companies of Hanwha Group and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, are reportedly engaging in fierce competition against U.S., U.K., German, and French companies. An industry official said, “The Saudi military is reviewing all weapon systems, making it impossible to say that any single option is favored.”
As competition among countries intensifies, the domestic defense industry is also seeking to strengthen cooperation with Saudi Arabia. Seok Jong-geun, Administrator of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, met with Talal Abdullah Al-otaibi, Deputy Minister of Defense, on the 12th to discuss ways in which South Korean defense companies can participate in the medium-to-long-term defense power acquisition projects being pursued by the Saudi Ministry of National Defense. This cooperation plan included detailed cooperation measures regarding major weapon systems.
Earlier in January, Administrator Seok and defense companies including Hanwha Aerospace met with the Deputy Minister of National Defense overseeing the introduction of weapon systems in Saudi Arabia. This meeting was in response to interests that Saudi Arabia has shown in weapons, suggesting proposals from domestic companies. Not only weapon system sales but also operation maintenance and localization were mentioned.