Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Eng. Walid Abukhaled, CEO of the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), said that the Kingdom is working on manufacturing drones locally, taking into account their significance in the current scenario.

In his speech at the Saudi Budget Forum 2023, organized by the Ministry of Finance, here on Monday, he said: “If we look at globally, we see that unqualified systems are the future of military industries, and they may be unmanned aircraft or vehicles without a pilot.”

Eng. Abukhaled, who is the former CEO of global defense and aerospace corporation Northrop Grumman in the Middle East, said that Saudi Arabia focuses on sensor systems such as radars.

“We care about two things: artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and there must be strong cyber systems that protect the system and follow the instructions of the General Authority for Military Industries,” he added.