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GSN understands that UK-based Xcalibur Aerospace – a drone company, which is part-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – tried to raise $500m in a fund-raising effort focused on the US west coast earlier this year. However, it is believed the effort came to an end without any funds being raised, as investors were unpersuaded about what was on offer.

Mock aircraft carrier sets sail The mock-up of a Nimitz class United States aircraft carrier built by Iran left Bandar Abbas port in late July and was towed to a site in the Strait of Hormuz in preparation for the latest iteration of the Payambar-e Azam (Great Prophet) exercises, which began on 28 July.

Abu Dhabi-based Edge is to take full control of the Advanced Military Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Centre (Ammroc), buying out the 40% of shares held by Lockheed Martin Corporation and its helicopter subsidiary Sikorsky. The deal’s value has not been announced.

Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has launched the first of five corvettes it is building for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) in what is known as the Al-Sarawat project. A ceremony was held in San Fernando shipyard on 22 July, attended by RSNF commander Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily. 

Defence industry regulator the General Authority for Military Industries (Gami) signed memoranda of co-operation on 9 June with the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY), with the aim of encouraging investment into the local military-industrial sector and creating industrial clusters. Among the underlying elements is a plan to develop local supply chains that will be able to serve both military and civil customers.

Kuwait has received approval from the United States State Department to buy 84 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile segment enhancements and related equipment at an estimated cost of $800m. Lockheed Martin Corporation is the main supplier. Approving the sales on 28 May, the State Department said it would help Kuwait to meet current and future threats, and provide greater security for oil and natural gas infrastructure. It added that the missiles’ acquisition will allow for integration with US forces for training exercises.

Tehran says it has acquired the ability to manufacture nuclear-powered submarines but has not yet decided whether to produce any. In a 3 April interview with the local Mehr News Agency, head of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics’ Marine Industries Organisation Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari said “We have acquired such a knowhow and capability… [but] we have not yet received orders”.

The Canadian government has lifted a ban on new arms sales to Saudi Arabia and cleared the way for a hitherto secret C$14bn ($10bn) deal for light armoured vehicles (LAVs) made by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada.In a statement issued on 9 April, foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne and finance minister Bill Morneau said a deal had been signed in 2014 between Riyadh and federal trade facilitation company the Canadian Commercial Corporation.

The first of the 36 F-15QA fighter jets ordered from The Boeing Company conducted a successful 90-minute test flight at Lambert International Airport in St Louis, Missouri on 14 April. The test flight team was led by chief test pilot Matt Giese, who carried out a so-called ‘Viking’ vertical take-off.

A UK-based drone company part-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – and in which an obscure Al-Saud family member has been a significant shareholder – is targeting sales to the United States Air Force. Xcalibur Aerospace recently hired Greydiant Consulting to lobby on its behalf in the US.The PIF owns just over 20% of the shares in Xcalibur, according to disclosure documents filed with Congress by Greydiant in December and recently unearthed by lobbying specialist Al-Monitor.

Saudi Arabia has retained its position as the world’s largest importer of arms, according to data released earlier this month by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) covering the period 2015-19. The kingdom accounted for 12% of all arms transfers around the world over those years, as was the case in the previous edition of the report covering 2014-18.The United States supplied 73% of Saudi imports, followed in importance by the UK with 13% and France with 4%.

The US Army has awarded a $551m contract to Massachusetts-based Raytheon Company to start production of a Patriot air and missile defence system for Bahrain. The contract was awarded on 31 January but only announced by Raytheon on 9 March. Raytheon had announced in August 2019 that Bahrain had agreed to buy the Patriot system, following approval of the sale by the US State Department.

Following the seizure of Iranian-manufactured arms off Yemen last November, the US Navy intercepted a further shipment on 9 February, when the cruiser USS Normandy boarded a small dhow in the Arabian Sea off Oman. The Iranian-manufactured consignment included 150 Dehlavieh anti-tank guided missiles (based on the Russian Kornet), four Misagh-2 Chinese-derived surface-to-air missiles and thermal imaging weapon sights.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) may place further orders for new vessels from Italy’s Fincantieri, following a wide-ranging memorandum of understanding signed on 24 January by the shipbuilder and the ministry’s wholly-owned Barzan Holding.In a statement, Fincantieri said the MoU covered “the evaluation and studies of new technologies and capabilities, possibly leading to a future acquisition of new vessels.”

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman held talks with visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on 3 February, focusing on bilateral ties – including within MBS’s defence minister remit – and regional events. Greek officials confirmed in media interviews that Athens had deployed a Patriot air-defence unit in Saudi Arabia on 20 January, along with 130 personnel.