Saudi Arabia localized 27.3% of its military spending in 2025, above the 24% target set for the year, the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) said on Sunday.
The figures were presented at the Military Industries Forum in Riyadh. The kingdom localized 24.89% of military spending in 2024 and 4% in 2018, according to GAMI data published by Argaam. The target for 2030 is 50%.
Nawaf Al-Bawardi, GAMI’s deputy governor for localization, said local companies’ share of military spending has grown at a compound annual rate of 11%, Al Eqtisadiah reported.
Local content in military industries stood at about 41%, he said. It ranged from 45% in the air domain and 43% in armaments to 36% in the naval domain, 33% in the land domain and 30% in defense electronics.
The sector contributed SR7.5 billion to gross domestic product in 2025. Employee compensation rose to SR5.2 billion from SR4.3 billion in 2024, Al-Bawardi said.
The number of people working in the sector rose to 49,000 from 34,000, with Saudi nationals making up about 56% of the workforce.
GAMI has signed five framework agreements that let military and security agencies buy directly at set prices for up to seven years. Purchase orders under those agreements exceeded SR3.4 billion over five years, Al-Bawardi said. Saudi companies won 84% of sustainment contracts awarded by military and security agencies in 2025.
Bandar Alkhorayef, a minister of state and GAMI’s acting governor, told the forum the kingdom is positioned to help fill gaps in global military supply chains. He said the authority recently issued two guides on risk management and business continuity in response to developments in the region.
