Four-day event to host 30,000 visitors, including high-level delegations and exhibitors from nearly 80 countries RIYADH: Saudi Arabia launched its first-ever edition of the World Defense Show on Sunday. Speaking at the opening panel of the event, The CEO of Saudi Arabian Military Industries, also known as SAMI, Walid Abu Khaled. said that his 3-4 years old company is currently ranked as number 85 company in the world, but "our aim is to become among the top 25 companies world wide by 2030." The four-day event held from March 6–9 will host 30,000 visitors, including high-level delegations and exhibitors from nearly 80 countries. The show will accelerate the industry’s future by showcasing the latest technological developments and demonstrating defense interoperability across all major domains — air, land, sea, space and security systems. It will feature products and demonstrations from hundreds of local and global exhibitors, including international partners such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Navantia, BAE Systems, L3 Harris, and Norinco. Updates Saudi Advanced Communications and Electronics Systems Co. or ACES signed today a strategic agreement with a Chinese company to transfer knowledge to manufacture unmanned aircraft payload systems locally in the Kingdom "What we can bring forward to the kingdom is leverage upon our expertise and technology that we’ve been able to develop both on commercial space as well as military space," said Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security. "The next step in supporting Vision 2030 is to begin to develop even more talent in Saudi Arabia to support the different capabilities and grow great talent," Ted Colbert, CEO of Boeing Global Services said. Part of our JV with Saudi Arabia is that Saudi will be creating software and radars, which Saudi will own and control without having to have a permission from the US. So we are transferring the IP and the knowhow to the kingdom, said Joseph rank, Chief Executive of Saudi Arabia and Africa Lockheed Martin. As defense firms move into digitization, SAMI’s vice president emphasized the need to take cybersecurity integration with electronic warfare into serious consideration. 5G is becoming a center of interest for many organizations. The US Department of Defense spent $600m to check whether 5G suits them, Saud Al-Sheraihi, Projects and Solutions Vice President of stc said. Stc covered the whole area of the Red Sea Development project by 5G coverage which was installed using drones, Al-Sheraihi said. 5G can manage to connect multiple systems together to boost national security, Al-Sheraihi said. Fleet renewal, operational efficiency and performance, and alternative fuels are other areas of focus that can complement digitizing defense, said Ted Colbert, president and CEO of Boeing Global Services. Boeing is responsible for leveraging digital capabilities, our T-7 is a good example of digital developed products, said Colbert. Partnerships are critical to driving interoperability, and “Saudi Arabia has a leading position in defense interoperability,” said Dana Mehnert, president of communication systems at L3Harris Technologies. Stc Academy signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Sunday with Thales Security System and Services Company during the World Defense Show. The MoU aims at developing cybersecurity knowledge to enhance international methodologies and practices, including simulation and cyber-scale laboratories. The Saudi Arabian Military Industries, or SAMI, is aiming to provide defense electronics to all three military branches which include, air force, the army and the navy, said Ziad Al-Musallam, president and chief executive officer of SAMI Advanced Electronics, and executive vice president of SAMI. The Saudi Arabian Military Industries, or SAMI, aims to become one of the top 25 defense companies in the world by 2030, said Walid Abukhaled, the chief executive officer of the state-owned defense company. King Fahd University of Petroluem and Minerals created programs within its curriculum to develop human capacity in the industry to “truly localize defense technology,” said Muhammad Al-Saggaf, the university president. American aircraft manufacturer Boeing plans to fly on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuels by 2030, a company’s top executive revealed.