Wahaj

Wahaj is an arms manufacturing company in Saudi Arabia.[1] Wahaj has premises in Riyadh's Second Industrial City.[2] Wahaj is also known as Saudi Advanced Technologies Company.[3]

History

Wahaj was established in 2013 as a joint venture between Saudi International Petrochemical Company (SIPCHEM) and a member of the South Korean Hanwha Group.[4] The shares are split in a 3:1 ratio.[2]

In 2017 Wahaj built 18 jigs for the BAE Systems Hawk jet. The jigs were the first collaboration of Wahaj and the Saudi subsidiary of BAE Systems.[2]

On 1 March 2018 Wahaj partnered with Lockheed Martin to build Paveway II Plus laser-guided bombs. The bombs would be used on Saudi Arabia’s F-15s, F-16s and Panavia Tornados. When the plant is operational 70% of the bombs were to be locally-built.[5]

In 2019 Wahaj and the Rafaut Group signed a contract to build aviation manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia.[6]

In 2021 Wahaj partnered with Honeywell Aviation to manufacture aerospace parts for civilian aircraft.[7]

In October 2023 Wahaj chose to partner with the IFS AB subsidiary so as to secure its IT needs.[3][8]

In February 2024 Milrem Robotics demonstrated their THeMIS UGV which was equipped with a Wahaj SCORPION remote-control dual gun system.[9]

In February 2024 Nexter signed an agreement with Wahaj that they would together develop a guided shell for use with the 156 CAESAR artillery delivery systems that were on order by the Saudi government, which had established more stringent precision standards than normal. The state-of-the-art ordnance systems used GPS and IMU; the newly-specified "Sabir" system would add a (drone-mounted) laser pointer feature and have a range of 60km. In addition, the Saudis prize the ITAR-free status of their new shells.[1]

As of February 2024, Wahaj was able to brag about 100% Saudi-made defense systems.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "KNDS France va développer un nouvel obus guidé de 155 mm en partenariat avec une entreprise saoudienne". 16 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Sipchem subsidiary WAHAJ builds 18 Hawk jet platforms".
  3. ^ a b "Saudi Advanced Technologies Company (Wahaj) Chooses IFS Cloud for Digitalization and Automation". 3 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Wahaj: Key to the Saudi defense supply chain". 5 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Lockheed Martin partners with Wahaj for laser-guided bomb production in KSA".
  6. ^ "WAHAJ, Rafaut Group sign deal for manufacturing aviation facilities in Saudi Arabia".
  7. ^ "Honeywell Appoints Wahaj as Strategic Supplier Partner for Manufacturing Aerospace Parts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". aerospace.honeywell.com.
  8. ^ "Saudi Advanced Technologies Company (Wahaj) Selects IFS Cloud to Accelerate Journey to Business Digitalization and Automation".
  9. ^ "Milrem Robotics showcases robotic vehicles in Saudi Arabia". 5 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Wahaj, SIPCHEM subsidiary, actively participates in World Defense Show, Riyadh". 5 February 2024.