Riyadh, 6 March 2022 (TDI): The first World Defense Show of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been opened to the public, as part of the effort to localize the Kingdom’s defence expenditures.

More than 600 exhibitors from around 40 nations have participated in the defense show and organizers are expecting the 30,000 plus attendees to attend the said show.

Said defense show will last for 4 days from March 6 to 9 at a purpose-built 800,000 square metre facility in the north of Riyadh.The expo, which is scheduled to take place every two years, has been organized by the Kingdom’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI).

Delegations from dozens of the states will tour the pavilions which are showcasing the products and displays of hundreds of local and international exhibitors. Exhibitors will display technologies from defense systems for the air, land, sea, and space.

Governor of GAMI namely Ahmad al-Ohali stated that the 6th of March is being surmised a significant milestone in the Kingdom’s journey to localizing 50% of its military budget by 2030.

Further he said, they have received enormous worldwide interest in participation in the first World Defense Show of KSA. They look forward to creating a suitable atmosphere for networking and cross-border collaborations to foster industry innovation.

Daily thematic panel discussions will go into the nuances of the technologies on exhibition. A 20-minute cyber-defense demonstration will also be presented six times a day at the Command and Control Center.

A Start-Up Zone will exhibit some of the most cutting-edge innovations offered by small and midsize enterprises from around the world. The show’s last day will welcome 5,000 talented Saudi students from the Kingdom’s STEM institutes for the Future Talent Program.

As the tragic reality of war reveals in eastern Europe, latest Ukrainian and Russian military hardware competing for the attention of the visitors in primeval exhibition halls.

Ukraine’s Kozark 7 and Kozark 2M tactical armoured vehicles and anti-drone systems are also showcased in the exhibition. Adjacently in the next hall, Moscow’s hardware, anti-aircraft weapons and air defence systems are placed to  show in the exhibition.

Today, hundreds of visitors to the Riyadh defence expo, including regional government, military, and business executives has viewed this show of grandeur from governments.

Many arms-producing states compete for influence and contracts from affluent Gulf Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who are diversifying their defence partners and developing their own industries.

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