ISPI - Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale

11/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/11/2024 10:27

Khalid bin Salman’s Rising Influence in Saudi Defense Reforms

In a highly unstable regional context, Saudi Arabia is pushing forward with defense reforms, focusing on military modernization and education, as well as on the defense industry goals outlined by Vision 2030. Two years after his appointment in September 2022, the role of Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, the defense minister and younger brother of the crown prince and prime minister Mohammed bin Salman, looks on the rise. His direct knowledge of the defense field, and of the US politics, are likely to play a notable role in Saudi armed forces' transformation trajectory.

A New Development Plan: Reorganization and Human Capital

Saudi Arabia is investing in the reorganization of the defense ministry, and to further improve defense sector's human skills. This fits into the professionalization path the Saudi armed forces have embraced, also complying with Riyadh's greater defense autonomy aspirations.

In 2018, the ministry of defense launched its new development plan, as Mohammed bin Salman still was the defense minister. The plan, prepared in the framework of the National Defense Strategy comprises, according to the Saudi news agency, a new vision, a strategy and a development model, outlining the organizational, governance, and human resources requirements.

The plan foresees three main reform phases: the building of the ministry's centre and of specific undersecretaries (for instance, on strategic affairs, and on procurement); the reorganization of the forces to increase performance efficiency and facilitate joint operations; the rearming of the forces and the building of capabilities.

Defense industry: agreements and exhibitions

The development of the Saudi defense industry stands at the centre of reform efforts. On February 2024, Khalid bin Salman was appointed chairman of the board of the Saudi Arabian Military Industries, SAMI. Established in 2017, SAMI is a company fully owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and its goal is contributing to achieve one of the most ambitious Vision 2030 goals: localizing about the fifty percent of the kingdom's defense spending by 2030.

According to official data, the localization rate is gradually growing although it is still far from targets: it has increased from 2% (2016) to 8% (2020), and would be close to 15% as of mid-2023.

About national defense industry, Riyadh has also invested in the development of Saudi human skills and technical expertise. In 2022, the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), founded in 2017 and tasked with sector's regulation and monitoring, announced the establishment of the Academy of Defense Industries (ADI). The academy aims to train, qualify, and enable national employees to join the workforce in Saudi Arabia's defense industry sector.

Defense exhibitions held in the kingdom mirror the Saudi ongoing effort towards localizing military production. At the World Defense Show 2024, the bi-annual fair held in February in Riyadh, many of the contracts signed by the Saudi Armed Forces and by the Saudi National Guard (which has its own ministry), were finalized with Saudi defense industries.

In 2023, during the first-ever visit by a sitting NATO Secretary General in Saudi Arabia, Jens Stoltenberg also visited the headquarters of SAMI, where "he discussed industrial production and potential future avenues for cooperation" between the Alliance and the kingdom.

Recent visits abroad by Khalid bin Salman all have focused on defense industry cooperation. In Türkiye (July 2024), he discussed the cooperation agreement signed in 2023 by the Saudi defense ministry with Baykar, the Turkish private company specialised in drones manufacturing, to localize production; in Italy(October 2024), the minister met with the chiefs of the major industrial companies.

Likewise, Saudi Arabia signed a deal to expand defence cooperation with South Korea on weapons systems research and development (February 2024), and an agreement with Brazil in June 2024 also including the defense industry sector.

The Saudi Arabian National Defense University

Military training and education are also key components of Saudi defense reform to build comprehensive national capabilities in the field. Khalid bin Salman inaugurated in June 2024 the Saudi Arabian National Defense University (SANDU), formerly the Saudi Armed Forces Command and Staff College. The SANDU's goal is transforming the existent war college in a modern defense college to prepare both military and civilian leaders in the field of defense and national security.

In the planning of the National Defense University, the Saudi ministry of defense has partnered with the Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA), an institution at the US Department of Defense. The collaboration focuses on boosting training and education for Saudi military personnel. In 2020, the Saudi defense ministry and the NESA signed a memorandum to support the development of Saudi professional military institutions, comprised infrastructure and class curriculums at war colleges and military universities.

For the first time, the Saudi defense ministry is also organizing an international forum for non-commissioned officers (military professionals tasked with day-to-day management of military operations and to supervise enlisted soldiers), that will take place in Riyadh on late November, featuring lectures and dialogue sessions to exchange experiences.

Saudi Armed Forces: deployments and diplomacy

Saudi defense sector's reform occurs in a very unstable timeframe for the Middle East, which sees the Saudi armed forces engaged both in military deployments abroad (in Yemen), as well as in military diplomacy to support Riyadh's foreign policy (with Iran).

The Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, that has begun almost ten years ago, still poses risks for Saudi personnel deployed in the country, despite the expired national truce continues to be quite observed by warring parties. Furthermore, even the areas controlled by the internationally-recognized government can be risky: on November 9, 2024, a Yemeni soldier, likely belonging to the First Military Region of the army, opened the fire during a workout in a Saudi-led military training camp in Sayoun, Hadhramawt, killing two Saudi officers and injuring a third.

The Saudi armed forces are also working to further de-escalate tensions with the Iran's counterpart, after the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in March 2023. Heading a high-level delegation, the general chief of staff of the Saudi armed forces, Fayyad al-Ruwaili, met in Tehran with its Iranian equal Mohammad Bagheri on November 10, 2024, to discuss bilateral and defense ties. Bagheri previously had a phone call with Khalid bin Salman in November 2023.

Khalid bin Salman's military background and the special relationship with the US

Differently from Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi defense minister has a military background. Furthermore, he underwent military training in the US, as most of Saudi military personnel. He was also the Saudi ambassador in the US between 2017-2019.

Appointed vice minister of defense in 2019, Khalid bin Salman had graduated from the King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh, and he was an F-15 pilot and tactical intelligence officer in the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was trained as a pilot ‎at the Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio (Texas), he then received advanced training at Columbus Air Force Base in Columbia (Mississippi), and also had some combat experiences.

Khalid bin Salman's military background and his first-hand knowledge of US politics and institutions make of him a privileged interlocutor for Washington. This factor can be an added value now that Saudi Arabia and the US are negotiating a new and strengthened defense pact.

Riyadh is working to consolidate multipolar partnerships also in the defense field, as Khalid bin Salman's recent visit to China emphasizes (June 2024), prioritizing defense industry cooperation. However, the ongoing modelling of Saudi military education and training on American expertise, and the fact Saudi Arabia still imports most of its weapons from the US, suggest the defense relationship with Washington is likely to remain unmatched for Riyadh, even if the kingdom pursues now a bolder multipolar policy than before.