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In a move that will further enhance national defense capabilities and enrich the skillsets of highly qualified local personnel, Eng. Ziad bin Houmod Al-Musallam, CEO of the Advanced Electronics Company (AEC), a Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) company, and Dr. Sami bin Mohammed Al-Alhumaidi, Acting Director General of the Prince Sultan Defense Studies and Research Center, have signed an agreement for the manufacture, production, improvement, and modernization of the ‘Sky Guard’ drone system.
The state-of-the-art tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is capable of a wide variety of tasks including surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Its take-off and landing are automated and controlled remotely through an Operating Room and Mobile Communication Room.
“We are proud to cooperate with the Prince Sultan Defense Studies and Research Center and work together to enhance the Kingdom's defense and security capabilities and fulfill the defense-focused programs and initiatives of Vision 2030. We are confident that our partnership with the Center will prove effective in promoting and supporting the development of the Kingdom's defense ecosystem, as well as boosting local content. Through this joint cooperation, we look forward to contributing to achieving leadership in meeting Saudi Arabia’s ambitions in the defense sector,” commented Eng. Ziad bin Houmod Al-Musallam, CEO of AEC.
Dr. Sami bin Mohammed Al-Alhumaidi, Acting Director General of the Prince Sultan Defense Studies and Research Center, stated: “The Center takes pride in signing an agreement to manufacture the ‘Sky Guard’ drone system with a key strategic partner such as Advanced Electronics Company. This important milestone in the manufacture of advanced technologies will help to ensure the successful shift from research, tests, and experiments to manufacturing and mass production, as well as the transfer of knowledge through training on locally designed and manufactured products. It also contributes to the integration and unification of efforts to align national strategies in the defense and security sectors. All local design and manufacturing stages were carried out by the teams in the applied research laboratories at the Prince Sultan Defense Studies and Research Center in Riyadh.”
AEC is playing a major role in contributing to goals of Saudi Vision 2030 by focusing on localizing 50% of the Kingdom's military and security spending and introducing new industrial visions that will support and enrich future innovations.
