Boeing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Industrial and Academic Partnerships

Boeing actively supports the Saudi industrial sectors. Boeing’s objectives are to

• Support Saudi plans to develop technological capability.
• Create jobs.
• Promote “saudization” (a program to increase employment of Saudi youth).
• Create and capture new markets.
• Provide additional support to communities by investing in mathematics, science and literacy programs to prepare students to meet future challenges and enable them to realize their dreams.

Joint ventures

In 2015, Boeing signed an agreement with Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI) and Alsalam Aerospace Industries (AAI) to create the Saudi Rotorcraft Support Company (SRSC). With facilities in Riyadh and Jeddah, SRSC focuses on providing comprehensive maintenance, repair and overhaul support for both Boeing and non-Boeing platforms, including the AH-64 Apache, CH-47 Chinook and AH-6i. SRSC services include:

• Comprehensive, in-country maintenance and maintenance support.
• Depot overhaul and repair.
• Program and supply chain management.
• Saudi pilot and maintenance team training.

In March 2018, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and following the announcement of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to localize 50 percent of the total military spending by 2030, Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) and Boeing signed a Memorandum of Agreement to develop a new joint venture. The venture will localize more than 55 percent of the manufacturing, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for fixed- and rotary-wing military aircraft in Saudi Arabia and will be the sole provider of these services for all military aviation platforms of the KSA military fleet, strengthening the Kingdom’s defense capabilities and enhancing its deterrent potential.

The signing ceremony came in conjunction with HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s historic visit to Seattle, Washington, which included an official visit and tour of Boeing’s aircraft manufacturing facilities.

In 2019, Boeing, the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (NIDLP), Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur), and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further the development of the aerospace industry of Saudi Arabia. The partnership will strengthen the country’s infrastructure, including supporting the production of aluminum products to the material specifications of Boeing and the broader industry.

Academic partnerships

In 2001, the King Faisal Foundation, together with a team of entrepreneurs, Saudi businesses and multinational corporations, embarked on an ambitious program to establish the first private university in the kingdom.

In 2009, Boeing became a member of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) industrial collaboration program, which aims to facilitate local and international industrial collaboration. As part of the program, Boeing partners with academics and students at the university on research and development initiatives.

In July 2012, the Saudi Emerging Leaders program was the first of its kind held at the Boeing Leadership Center. Boeing sponsored 15 Master of Business Administration students for a one-week leadership development program, providing them with insights on how to effectively operate in a shifting global economy.

In 2014, Boeing Research & Technology opened an office at KAUST to enable Boeing’s increased interaction with professors and resident companies interested in joint collaboration and research and development. Also:

• Boeing and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology launched the Decision Support Center in Riyadh. The center serves as a key tool for collaboration and experimentation between customers and partners in the kingdom, giving users the ability to make more informed modernization and interoperability decisions for aerospace and defense products.
• Boeing launched the KSA College Graduate Program, which creates opportunities for recent Saudi engineering graduates of U.S. schools who are interested in acquiring meaningful, on-the-job experience before returning to the kingdom.

In 2016:

• Boeing announced that a second group of students joined its Saudi graduate-recruitment program, further supporting Boeing’s continuing investment in Saudi youth.
• Boeing sponsored a group of Alfaisal University senior management staff members who benefited from the Leadership Development Program at the Boeing Leadership Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
• A joint initiative by Boeing and Saudi Aramco was organized with the goal of supporting the kingdom’s aviation sector. The participants explored several topics that related to discovering the kingdom’s training needs in the aviation sector and air transportation industry.
• Boeing and KAUST renewed their Master Research Agreement (MRA) during a ceremony at the university’s campus.

In 2017:

• The Saudi Rotorcraft Support Company opened in April, less than 18 months after Boeing, Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries and Alsalam Aerospace Industries agreed to create it.
• In October, the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) awarded Boeing the first of four anticipated contracts to overhaul technology onboard the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet. The RSAF AWACS Modernization Program (RAMP) will update mission systems, ground systems, radio, Identification Friend or Foe and other systems for the five Saudi AWACS. Modifications of the aircraft will be completed in 2026.

In 2018:

• In March, Boeing Global Services captured an international support contract to provide repair support services for the Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 program. Repair support services will be performed at various original equipment manufacturer locations within the United States and in Saudi Arabia.

In 2019:

• Boeing and the National Industrial Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further the development of the aerospace industry of Saudi Arabia. Also, in the same year, Alsalam Aerospace Industries completed the first in-country conversion of an F-15S aircraft to F-15SA (Saudi Advanced) variant.

In 2022:

• Boeing and the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) signed a preliminary agreement to form a Saudi Arabia-focused joint venture to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul and sustainment services for the military rotorcraft platforms operated in the Kingdom.