In the wake of the Yemeni army’s drone and missile strikes, Saudi officials announced an agreement with a US company to localize parts of the Todd air defense system .
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency International group, Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it had signed an agreement with the US company Lockheed Martin, which specializes in the aerospace and military equipment industry.
According to the official Saudi news agency (WAS) the two sides have agreed to build parts of the Todd air system in Saudi Arabia. The General Organization of Military Industries of Saudi Arabia announced that it had agreed to “two localization projects for the construction of interceptor missile launchers in addition to the internal construction of missile containers.” The statement added that the move would be made in collaboration with Lockheed Martin’s local subsidiary in Saudi Arabia and would be part of a localization of Todd’s air defense system.
The official Saudi news agency quoted Qassim al-Memeni, the deputy head of the organization, as saying The plan aims to “help improve the military and security readiness of air defense systems” in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi organization also announced the signing of 22 industrial partnership agreements with a number of domestic and international companies specializing in the military and defense industries.
According to the report, “the total value of the construction partnership is over eight billion Saudi riyals ($ 2.1 billion). “These agreements include several areas, including the direct localization of military systems, the creation of quality capabilities in the industrial areas, such as the construction of production and transmission lines, the localization of technologies and services in addition to training national staff and preparing and empowering them for military and defense industries.”
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the World Defense Exhibition hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia had already agreed in late 2018 to buy 44 firing platforms for Sadd missiles, and other equipment worth $ 15 billion from the American company. In October 2019, the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced the deployment of a series of military equipment, including Patriot missiles and the Todd system, to protect its strategic positions on Saudi soil.
Meanwhile, Waleed Abu Khalid, the chief executive of the Saudi Military Industries Company, recently said that the country is trying to produce drones. In an interview with Al-Akhbariya, Abu Khalid announced that the company would work with domestic partners, including the Saudi General Directorate of Industries, to produce the drone.
Saudi Arabia has turned to localizing military equipment as its strategic positions have been repeatedly targeted by Yemeni military rockets and drones in recent years. The Yemeni army and popular committees have always stated that they will continue to attack the strategic positions of Saudi Arabia and other members of the coalition, especially the United Arab Emirates, as long as the Saudi coalition continues to invade Saudi territory.
Saudi Arabia, at the head of an Arab coalition backed by the United States, has launched a military aggression against Yemen and imposed a land, air and sea blockade on April 26, 2015, claiming that it was trying to bring the resigned Yemeni president back to power.
The military aggression did not achieve any of the goals of the Saudi coalition and was only accompanied by the killing and wounding of tens of thousands of Yemenis, the displacement of millions, the destruction of the country’s infrastructure and the spread of famine and infectious diseases.