Lockheed to Back Saudi Arabia’s Defense Manufacturing With $1B Investment

Ray Piselli, vice president of international business at Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), said the company plans to spend as much as $1 billion on manufacturing initiatives in Saudi Arabia and expects the investment to help the country’s military industry regulator GAMI and state-owned defense company SAMI drive the domestic private sector.

Piselli said Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed had significant contracts with the Middle Eastern country and plans to include Saudi Arabia in global supply chains and establish an export market in addition to working with the kingdom on producing parts of weapons systems.

“Funds will be allocated to facilitate manufacturing, R&D and MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) initiatives across the kingdom, by investing in and upskilling Saudi industry,” a spokesperson for Lockheed said in a statement to the news service.

GAMI said it was collaborating with the defense contractor to build some of the parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system in Saudi Arabia.

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