RIYADH: The General Authority for Military Industries has partnered with Lockheed Martin on two projects, as part of the localization of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Weapon System program. Announced during the World Defense Forum in Riyadh, the first project is for localizing the manufacture of missile interceptor launchers, while the second is for producing the missile interceptor canisters locally, the authority said in a statement. The projects come in line with GAMI’s strategy to bolster relations with its international partners to achieve the target of localizing over 50 percent of expenditure on defense equipment and services by the year 2030. “Lockheed Martin is engaged with its Saudi partners across several capacity building programs that are formulated to contribute to the realization of the country’s development goals,” said Joseph Rank, CEO for Lockheed Martin in Saudi Arabia and Africa. “This announcement will significantly boost global and regional security while supporting job creation and economic prosperity in Saudi Arabia,” he added. Established in 2017, GAMI is the regulator, enabler and licensor for the Kingdom’s military industry. It seeks to secure its core national priorities, namely military readiness, strategic autonomy, transparency and efficiency of spend, sustainability of local military industries and interoperability within and across entities.