Saudi Arabia leads the Arab armament race with an advanced army, taking advantage of the diversification of arms sources between the United States, Russia, China and Turkey, with the settlement of defense industries and the promotion of national capabilities, in a strategy aimed at regional deterrence and reduce dependence on one party.
Arab Defense website – September 11, 2025: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia leads the arms race in the Arab world, where its forces are spent, equivalent to the extent of the spending of four Arab countries combined. It enjoys the support of several European and Western countries and companies, which enabled it to build an army that is the second most powerful Arab army after Egypt, beating Algeria and Morocco.
The Kingdom’s weapon comes from various sources, although the United States remains the largest supplier, as the American Defense Corporation is one of the largest foreign military sales companies for Saudi Arabia, as part of a long -term partnership based on joint security interests in the Gulf, and deterring any regional or foreign threat to the region. Military cooperation with Washington includes air and missile defense systems, the use of military aircraft, and the granting of Saudi Arabia the right to use a number of American facilities within the widespread American forces, in addition to two basic bases: the air housing base, the Group Air Force 320, the reconnaissance group 64, and the Prince Sultan Air Rule.
Saudi Arabia is also seeking to conclude a joint strategic defense agreement with the United States, such as NATO members or defense agreements with Japan and South Korea. Away from American cooperation, Russia expanded its military cooperation with the Kingdom, through decades to produce the Kalashnikov AK-103, and TOZ-E1 missiles and Cornet missiles. The Russian Ambassador in Riyadh, Sergey Kozlov, confirmed in the beginning of 2023 that the two countries are seeking to expand military and technical cooperation, a desire from Saudi Arabia to diversify its defense capabilities.
China has also cooperated militarily with the Kingdom, since the visit of Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to Beijing in June 2014, and the relationship has evolved during the past three years to include Saudi Arabia’s help in producing ballistic missiles on its territory, and discussions to purchase advanced Chinese YJ-21 vulgarity, to implement the sea sword maneuvers in October 2023.
In February 2024, Saudi Arabia launched the second edition of the Global Defense Exhibition, which included more than 750 exhibitors and participated in 75 countries, in addition to the presence of more than 500 official delegations, with the aim of strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a leading global destination in defense, security and military industries, pushing the wheel of resettlement and defense manufacturing locally, and exchanging modern technical expertise.
The Kingdom also concluded agreements with the Saudi Military Industries Company (SAMI) and international companies from Italy, Spain, South Korea, South Africa, Bosnia and Turkey. In July 2024, the Saudi Defense Minister announced the signing of three memoranda of understanding with leading Turkish defense companies in the field of aviation, space and technology, as part of the strategy of diversifying resource resources and reducing dependence on the United States.
Through this strategy, Saudi Arabia seeks to enhance the level of deterrence, isolate Iranian influence in the region, and benefit from its influence within the western camp. The impact of this has emerged when Germany issued a ban on the export of weapons to the Kingdom, but it was later restored by Saudi Arabia’s political pressure and alliances with France and Britain.
Saudi Arabia also seeks to make technological benefit from armament deals, by localizing heavy and advanced military industries, transferring modern technology, and training national cadres to use them. The Saudi Mechanical Systems Company has signed memoranda of understanding with the Turkish and Roketsan companies, and concluded deals with South African defense companies and acquired stakes in the company “DENEL DYNAMICS” to localize the defense industry locally.
The size of Saudi Arabia’s spending on weapons appears at the global level, as it ranked second after India, and it constitutes 72 % of its imports from the United States, with deals with Türkiye, Russia and China. Global spending on weapons is about $ 1.676 trillion. As a result of all of this, the Saudi army ranked second in the Arab world in terms of force in 2025 after the Egyptian army, and it became among the internationally advanced armies.
The Saudi strategy in diversifying arms sources and localizing defense industries, in addition to international alliances, reflects its desire to achieve sustainable security and reduce dependence on one party, while enhancing its technical and defense capabilities to confront regional and international challenges.
Saudi strategic ballistic missile program
Saudi Arabia has a ballistic missile program that is one of its most prominent strategic defense programs, and comes within the framework of the Kingdom’s endeavor to enhance its deterrent capabilities to counter regional threats, especially Iranian influence in the region. The development of the Saudi program began decades ago in cooperation with international partners, as it focused on obtaining missiles with a variety of and capable of carrying advanced traditional heads, ensuring that possible strategic points in the region.
Saudi Arabia benefits in this program from international technical expertise, especially from China, as it helped it develop local ballistic missile systems, and has made improvements to guidance and accuracy systems, in line with the Kingdom’s defensive needs. The program also includes continuous updates to missile infrastructure, such as launch rules and ground control systems, to ensure response speed and operational readiness in any possible scenario.
The program is part of a comprehensive strategy to enhance balanced deterrence, so that the Saudi army is able to respond to any external threats without total dependence on the allies, with a focus on developing self -capabilities through resettlement and technology transfer. The program is also consistent with Saudi Arabia’s goals to expand its defense partnerships at the international level, and to benefit from the latest military technologies, which enhances the Kingdom’s position as a regional deterrent force with an effective ability to protect its national and strategic interests.
The Saudi ballistic program is not limited to offensive capabilities, but also contributes to supporting the comprehensive defense plans of the region, including coordination with air and missile defense systems, and reflects the Kingdom’s orientation towards building an integrated defensive system capable of facing multiple challenges in a complex regional environment.
The Saudi ballistic program is the most advanced in the region in terms of capabilities, scope and technological modernity.
The article showed the strongest Saudi military force in the Middle East, first on the Arab defense site.
