Leading defense contractors from more than 75 countries are participating in Saudi Arabia’s “World Defense Show 2024,” which runs from Feb. 4-8 in Riyadh. Saudi’s leading business intelligence site, The Saudi Boom, described the Defense Show as “not just an event; it’s a strategic platform aligning with Saudi Vision 2030,” the country’s development plan. The country seeks to become a global hub for the defense industry, and produce 50% of its defense needs domestically.
More than business opportunities are at stake. Saudi Arabia is now a center of contention in the global strategic battle over which way the world will go, towards Global NATO dictatorship, or the new paradigm coming together around the BRICS. The behemoths of the Anglo-American military-industrial-financial complex (BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc.) were well- represented, as were Turkish, South Korean, Italian and other national defense companies. Lockheed Martin signed an agreement for Saudi companies to manufacture components for the U.S.’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system, for example.
The second largest exhibit at the show, after Saudi Arabia’s, is that of China, however. Global Times reports that Chinese arms firms put “a complete spectrum of their top products on display, ranging from land, sea, and air,” and the PLA Air Force’s air acrobatic team put on a grand show.
