South Africa’s Milkor gets go-ahead to produce drones in Saudi Arabia

South African defense and aerospace company Milkor said on Monday it has received approval to assemble and manufacture the company’s in-development 380 drone in Saudi Arabia, with the South African defense firm vying to receive an order from Riyadh.

“We are in talks on procurement with high-level Saudi Arabian officials,” Harry Cassidy, the Pretoria-based company’s business development manager, told Breaking Defense at the World Defense Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in an article published on Monday. “We have a local office [in Riyadh], which could support full assembly and production” if the company receives an order, he said.

As part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 program to transform Saudi Arabia’s economy from a reliance on oil, domestic manufacturing is high on the agenda, including in the military field. According to official figures, the country has one of the largest defense budgets in the world and in 2023 spent $69 billion on the industry, approximately 23% of the kingdom’s total budget. 

Defense deal blitz

At the World Defense Show, which runs Feb. 4-8, the Milkor Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) class 380 drone was on display with Saudi Arabian livery for the first time. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can hold guided bombs and weapons and run for up to 30 hours at a time.

Cassidy said Milkor received a manufacturing permit from Saudi Arabia that allows the South African firm to assemble and produce aircraft in the Gulf country. 

The executive said that Milkor was in talks with several governments about ordering the 380 UAVs. The company also intends to begin producing products in the United Arab Emirates, he said, as well as expand elsewhere in the Middle East and Europe.

Amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza and more than 165 attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed proxies, Saudi Arabia is looking to boost its military power. The United States and the United Kingdom have been launching barrages of airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in the region, including in Iraq and Syria and on the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which have been attacking ships in the Red Sea. 

South Africa has a long history of exporting military equipment to the kingdom, including for use in the country's military invasion of Yemen. A Daily Maverick report from August 2023 found that Pretoria had approved arms exports worth 9.2 billion rand ($483 million) to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, much of which was used in Yemen against the Houthis.

Several other announcements concerning the host country were made at the World Defense Show, which wraps up on Thursday.

US weapon-maker Lockheed Martin said Monday it had signed agreements for Saudi Arabian companies to manufacture parts of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system at home. Among the Saudi companies are Arabian International Company and Middle East Propulsion Company for steel.

European aerospace company Airbus said Monday that it was in talks to sell Riyadh more A330 tanker military planes. Head of Air Power at Airbus Jean-Brice Dumont told Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia was also considering purchasing A400M military transport aircraft. 

Airbus already has a 49% owned joint venture with Saudi Arabia Military Industries (SAMI), which is reportedly leading the negotiations for more military aircraft.

SAMI has so far signed 11 agreements at the defense show, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

Meanwhile, the Saudi branch of Airbus’ main rival, Boeing, signed a deal with Bahri Logistics, a unit of the kingdom’s national shipping company, which is expected to boost supply chain activities in the Gulf country.