As of: February 11, 2024, 12:35 p.m
By: Gabriel Bub
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China is aggressively courting Saudi buyers, while German companies are cautious.
People visit the exhibition area of China Defense during the second edition of the World Defense Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 5, 2024. © Wang Dongzhen/Imago
Saudi Arabia is arming itself.
At the World Defense Show near Riyadh, Chinese and Russian manufacturers are aggressively courting the rich monarchy's attention.
German companies are holding back, but they don't want to miss out on the financially strong market.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense has secured the best place in Hall 3 of the World Defense Show near Riyadh.
The People's Republic is showing a model of the S45 reconnaissance boat, an LD35 air defense system, Wing Loong drones and SY 400 guided missiles on around 3,000 square meters.
About 20 meters away, a Russian dealer from the state arms export agency Rosoboronexport is promoting new Kalashnikov models.
“Saudi Arabia has always been our friend,” he says.
The Saudi market promises lucrative business.
Saudi Arabia had planned a defense budget of around 64 billion euros for 2023.
Ascending trend.
And by 2030, Riyadh wants to produce more than 50 percent of its weapons domestically.
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German presence through joint ventures
The desert state is sought after as an armaments partner.
The federal government's decision to supply Iris-T air-to-air missiles to the country and to no longer stand in the way of the export of Eurofighter fighter jets should offer German companies a profitable sales market.
After the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's embassy in Istanbul and because of its involvement in the war in Yemen, the federal government stopped supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia in 2018.
German exhibitors remain cautious with their expectations: they do not see the Iris-T and Eurofighter decisions as a clear change in the traffic light's export policy.
The Hensoldt company, which defended itself against accusations from “Spiegel” in May 2023 that the company had tried to get orders in the Kingdom despite the embargo, only exhibits jammers, surveillance systems and radars from its South African branch.
The kingdom is an important partner for the company, in which the federal government holds 25.1 percent and thus a blocking minority.
Hensoldt has an office in the capital Riyadh.
However, you won't find national flags like those of French or British states among the Germans.
Rheinmetall sells through subsidiaries
Rheinmetall also does not want and does not want to give up its profitable business on the Arabian Peninsula.
At the World Defense Show it is present with joint ventures.
With Rheinmetall Arabia Simulation and Training, in which the German group is involved, it has been producing fighter aircraft simulators in the Kingdom since 2015.
According to research by “Stern” and ARD, Rheinmetall continued to supply ammunition to Saudi Arabia after the embargo via subsidiaries in Italy and South Africa.
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The Spanish subsidiary Rheinmetall Expal Munitions offers further options.
But first the Düsseldorf-based company has to answer critical questions from the Spanish antitrust watchdog.
In Riyadh, Expal is exhibiting models of 155 millimeter artillery ammunition, 127 millimeter naval ammunition and the 155 millimeter wheeled howitzer.
If Riyadh continues to upgrade its land forces after its air force, hopes of new, larger orders will also arise in Düsseldorf.
Schöllhorn's visit is a sign
Michael Schöllhorn, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space, came to Riyadh with a mission.
Riyadh responded to the federal government's long hesitation on the Eurofighter issue with interest in the French Rafale fighter jets from Dassault.
The Saudi Defense Minister therefore traveled to France in December 2023.
Schöllhorn's visit is a signal to Saudi Arabia and should satisfy co-producers BAE Systems (Great Britain) and Leonardo (Italy), who want to sell more fighter jets.
The change in the traffic light to no longer stand in the way of arms exports to Saudi Arabia has both economic and strategic reasons.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock justified it by saying that Saudi Arabia makes a “significant” contribution to Israel’s security, among other things because the kingdom shoots down Houthi rockets from Yemen that are aimed at Israel.
And the country has changed the way it conducts war in Yemen and has stopped bombing positions for a good year and a half.
But that too could change again.
Saudi Arabia is still formally a party to the war.
The federal government also has an interest in having Saudi Arabia on its side.
The USA, France and Great Britain have been binding their partners in the Middle East with arms deliveries for a long time - and not only with success.
In January, Saudi Arabia joined the Brics alliance, which initially consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
In Hall 1 - you can hardly be further away from the Russian stands at the trade fair - the National Association of the Ukrainian Defense Industry (Naudi) is looking for partners for joint ventures with a small stand.
After the war against Russia, a strong Ukrainian arms industry should help rebuild the country.
“The Gulf Cooperation Council countries can be valuable partners,” says Roman Sheleng, a salesman at Naudi.