Latest news with #USDefenseCompanies
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
US Defense & AI Companies Poised To Dominate Middle East Spending Wave
Map of the Middle East with Saudi Arabia in focus with bullets draped across President Donald Trump's first overseas trip since returning to the White House turned a lot of heads across the aerospace & defense and semiconductor industries last week. Over the course of just a few days, he visited three key Persian Gulf states—Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—where a cascade of economic agreements potentially totaling in the trillions of dollars was unveiled. One of the marquee announcements was a $142 billion arms deal, part of a broader $600 billion commercial package between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Touted by the White House as the 'largest defense sales agreement in history,' the deal includes 'state-of-the-art warfighting equipment' and services from more than a dozen American defense companies, though none are named. Saudi Arabia is already the largest U.S. foreign military sales (FMS) customer, with nearly 80% of its defense acquisitions coming from American companies. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Saudi Arabia spent more than $80 billion on defense in 2024, making it the seventh-largest military spender in the world and by far the largest in the Middle East. U.S. remains Saudi Arabia's largest supplier of arms The Saudis aren't alone. The UAE and Qatar have also made substantial defense purchases in recent months, including advanced drones, helicopters and counter-drone systems. As geopolitical uncertainty grows, Gulf nations are doubling down on deterrence, and they're looking to the U.S. for the tools to do it. One of the more striking takeaways from the trip might be the emergence of AI and semiconductors as critical assets in the defense toolkit. In Saudi Arabia, a new state-backed initiative called HUMAIN is leading a multibillion-dollar push to build an 'AI Zone,' in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The project, which will feature dedicated server farms powered by American semiconductors, is part of a broader effort to localize advanced tech manufacturing and training within the Kingdom. NVIDIA, the world's leading AI chipmaker, is expected to provide HUMAIN with at least 18,000 of its GB300 Grace Blackwell processors. Over the next five years, that number could reach several hundred thousand chips. Meanwhile, the UAE is negotiating for more than a million NVIDIA chips, enough to radically boost its own AI infrastructure. U.S. AI stocks surge on Trump's Middle East dealmaking Saudi Arabia's AI investments alone could generate $3 to $5 billion in annual chip sales, with longer-term infrastructure spending estimated at $15 to $20 billion, according to Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya. That would make sovereign AI one of the fastest-growing areas in the broader $450 billion AI infrastructure market. Aviation shouldn't be overlooked. In Qatar, Boeing signed its largest-ever widebody aircraft deal, a $96 billion order with Qatar Airways for up to 210 American-made jets. Powered by GE Aerospace engines, the order includes both the 787 Dreamliner and 777X platforms. This deal alone underscores the continued strategic value of aerospace as a core pillar of both economic and national security policy. Commercial aircraft deals often include co-production agreements, pilot training and maintenance support—capabilities that enhance soft power while reinforcing the industrial base. All of this comes against a backdrop of surging global military budgets. World defense spending hit a record $2.7 trillion in 2024, a 9.4% year-over-year increase and the sharpest rise since at least 1988, according to SIPRI. Spending has risen for 10 consecutive years, with gains across all five global regions. Global military spending hit a new record high of $2.7 trillion in 2024 Meanwhile, NATO is moving toward a new target of 5% of GDP for defense spending, up from the longstanding 2% benchmark. Both Germany and the U.S. have endorsed the increase, and the final plan is expected to be unveiled at the NATO summit this June. The world isn't de-escalating. It's rearming, with greater urgency, more advanced tools and higher price tags. I see these trends as a growing opportunity across multiple sectors—defense contractors, semiconductor makers, AI infrastructure providers and aerospace manufacturers. While individual names and strategies must be evaluated with care, the broader momentum is unmistakable.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump is betraying the West's allies in Syria
If we have learnt anything from President Donald Trump's approach to world affairs, it is that the lure of lucrative trade deals will always take precedence over national security. His overtures to Russia are based on the premise that ending the war in Ukraine could open up a new era of economic co-operation between Washington and Moscow. One of the driving factors in his drive for a nuclear deal with Tehran is the prospect of the US benefiting from peace in the Gulf region. Trump's mercantilist approach has been in evidence during his visit to the Middle East this week, where he has signed an arms deal worth nearly $142 billion with Saudi Arabia. Having been treated as pariahs by the previous Biden administration, the Saudis are keen to restore ties with Washington. The deals they have agreed with more than a dozen US defence companies have been characterised by Trump, with characteristic understatement, as 'the largest defence co-operation agreement' in history. But while the deal may well provide a boost to Trump's efforts to enrich Americans, it has come at a cost to the region's security. It appears that, in order to seal the deal, Trump has bowed to pressure from the Saudis and Turkey to lift all sanctions against the Islamist regime currently in power in Syria. Wide-ranging Western sanctions have been imposed against Syria since the earliest days of the country's brutal civil war in 2011. The Assad regime oversaw the barbaric repression of the Syrian people, resulting in the deaths of around 500,000 Syrians and half the country's 23 million population forced to flee their homes. The overthrow of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad at the end of last year by Islamist militants was supposed to herald a new era of peace and stability in the war-torn country under the leadership of the country's self-appointed leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Instead, Sharaa, who himself was placed under US sanctions for his close al-Qaeda associations during the civil war, has allowed the country to descend into another death spiral of factional violence. Minority groups such as the Alawites, Druze and Christians are all being subjected to acts of extreme violence. In such circumstances, the issue of lifting sanctions should only be addressed once sufficient guarantees are in place to demonstrate that the new regime is committed to governing on behalf of all Syrians, and not just its Islamist supporters. Yet, just as Trump has been prepared to ditch Ukraine in his quest for a trade deal with the Kremlin, so he has shown an alarming willingness to let the new Syrian regime off the hook in pursuit of his multi-billion dollar Saudi deal. After meeting Sharaa in Riyadh yesterday, Trump said his administration was looking to normalise ties with Damascus and that, by agreeing to lift sanctions, he had given the Islamist regime 'a chance for greatness'. The new Syrian regime has certainly done its best to reassure Trump of its good intentions. He has offered Washington access to Syria's modest oil reserves, provided reassurances about Israel's security and put forward a somewhat far-fetched proposition to build a Trump tower in central Damascus. Sharaa, who previously spent five years in a US prison after leading al-Qaeda's murderous campaign against US forces in Iraq, has clearly mounted an impressive public relations campaign to persuade Trump of his good intentions. It is another matter entirely whether he and his fellow Islamist fanatics are capable of bringing a semblance of stability to Syria after 14 years of brutal conflict, especially as the new regime seems as committed to settling scores with rival factions as the previous Assad regime. It was only in March that Washington was obliged to release a sharply-worded statement urging Damascus to protect minorities after attacks by pro-Assad forces sparked revenge killings of nearly 900 mostly Alawite civilians in north-west Syria. The new regime's decidedly Islamist agenda has caused alarm and consternation in Israel. This has led the Israelis to resist attempts by Damascus to deploy its forces further south, with Israeli war planes carrying out dozens of air strikes across the country in recent months to safeguard its own borders. If Trump's decision to commence normalising ties with Syria is premature, it could be the harbinger of a far greater betrayal. Washington may abandon other long-established policy goals in the region, such as maintaining support for pro-Western Kurdish groups which played a vital role in defeating Islamic State terrorists during Syria's civil war. The Kurds, who have established an autonomous zone in northern Syria, rely on the 3,000 US forces based in the region for their protection. But if Trump – as he attempted to do during his first presidential term – decides to withdraw US support, the Kurds will be left to the mercy of the Islamist regimes in Turkey and Syria, constituting yet another great betrayal by the Trump administration.
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Trump secures $ 1 trillion Saudi investment pledge
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, centre left, looks on as US President Donald Trump departs after a bilateral meeting in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski By Yousef Saba, Gram Slattery, Pesha Magid and Nafisa Eltahir, Reuters US President Donald Trump has secured a US$600 billion (NZ$1 trilliion) commitment from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (NZT) to invest in the United States after the oil power accorded him a gala welcome at the start of a tour of Gulf states . Trump punched the air as he emerged from Air Force One to be greeted by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who later signed an agreement with the president in Riyadh on energy, defence, mining and other areas. The US agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly US$142b, according to a White House fact sheet that called it "the largest defence cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done. The agreement covers deals with more than a dozen US defence companies in areas including air and missile defence, air force and space advancement, maritime security and communications, the fact sheet said. "Today we hope for investment opportunities worth $600 billion, including deals worth $300 billion that were signed during this forum," the Saudi crown prince said in a speech during a US-Saudi Investment Forum session held in Riyadh on the occasion of Trump's visit. "We will work in the coming months on the second phase to complete deals and raise it to $1 trillion," he said. US President Donald Trump punches the air as he arrives in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski Saudi Arabia is one of the largest customers for US arms. Reuters reported in April the US was poised to offer the kingdom an arms package worth well over $100 billion. "I really believe we like each other a lot," Trump said during a meeting with the crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler. The US and Saudi Arabia had discussed Riyadh's potential purchase of Lockheed F-35 jets, two sources briefed on discussions told Reuters, referring to a military aircraft that the kingdom is long thought to have been interested in. It was not immediately clear whether those aircraft were covered in the deal announced on Tuesday. Trump, who was accompanied by US business leaders including billionaire Elon Musk, will go on from Riyadh to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. He has not scheduled a stop in Israel, a decision that has raised questions about where the close ally stands in Washington's priorities, and the focus of the trip is on investment rather than security matters in the Middle East. "While energy remains a cornerstone of our relationship, the investments and business opportunities in the kingdom have expanded and multiplied many, many times over," Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih told the investment forum. "As a result ... when Saudis and Americans join forces very good things happen, more often than not great things happen when those joint ventures happen," he said before Trump's arrival. Trump told the investment forum that relations with Saudi Arabia will be even stronger. He was shown speaking with Riyadh's sovereign wealth fund governor Yaser al-Rumayyan, Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser, and Falih as he toured a hall that showed off models for the kingdom's flashy, multi-billion-dollar development projects. Trump called the Saudi crown prince a friend and said they have a good relationship, according to a pool report from the Wall Street Journal, adding that Saudi investment would help create jobs in the US. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, right, and US President Donald Trump greet delegation members at the Royal Court in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski Business leaders at the investment forum included Larry Fink, the chief executive of asset management firm BlackRock; Stephen A. Schwartzman, chief executive of asset manager Blackstone; and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Musk chatted briefly with both Trump and the crown prince, who is otherwise known as MbS, during a palace reception for the US president. And joining Trump for a lunch with MbS were top US businessmen including Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief, and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. MbS has focused on diversifying the Saudi economy in a major reform programme dubbed Vision 2030 that includes "Giga-projects" such as NEOM, a futuristic city the size of Belgium. Oil generated 62 percent of Saudi government revenue last year. The kingdom has scaled back some of its ambitions as rising costs and falling oil prices weigh. Saudi Arabia and the US have maintained strong ties for decades based on an ironclad arrangement in which the kingdom delivers oil and the superpower provides security in exchange. A US flag flutters as the sun sets on a main road in Doha on May 13, 2025, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP / Karim Jaafar Trump left Israel off his schedule although he wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a new ceasefire deal in the 19-month-old Gaza war. Israel's military operations against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and its assassinations of the two Iran-allied groups' leaders, have at the same time given Trump more leverage by weakening Tehran and its regional allies. US and Iranian negotiators met in Oman at the weekend to discuss a potential deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programme. Trump has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails. Trump told the investment forum he wants to offer Iran a new and better path toward a more helpful future. If no new nuclear deal is reached, he said, Tehran will face maximum pressure. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said last week he expected progress imminently on expanding accords brokered by Trump in his 2017-21 first term under which Arab states including the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco recognised Israel. Trump said it was his "fervent hope" that Saudi Arabia would soon sign its own normalisation agreement with Israel, adding, "But you'll do it in your own time." Still, Netanyahu's opposition to a permanent stop to the war in Gaza or to the creation of a Palestinian state makes progress on similar talks with the Saudis unlikely, sources told Reuters. -Reuters
