In a ceremony witnessed by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and President Donald J. Trump, Raytheon Company and the Saudi Arabia Military Industries Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on defense-related projects and technology development on May 20, 2017.

The agreement will enable continued global growth for Raytheon in key market areas such as air defense systems, smart munitions, C4I systems and cyber security of defense systems and platforms. This partnership will also contribute directly to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s localised defense ecosystem with regional expert capabilities, and will provide a long-term foundation for Saudi Arabia’s economic development.

“This strategic partnership is the next step in our over 50-year relationship in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a strong indicator of our continued global growth,” said Thomas A. Kennedy, Raytheon Chairman and CEO. “By working together, we can help build worldclass defense and cyber capabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

As part of this new agreement, Raytheon announced plans to establish Raytheon Arabia, a Saudi legal entity wholly-owned by Raytheon that will focus on implementing programs to create indigenous defense, aerospace and security capabilities in the Kingdom. The new company will be based in Riyadh and is expected to include in-country programme management, supply and sourcing capabilities, improved customer access and centralized accountability. These programs will positively impact Saudi and US economies including job creation.