Lockheed Martin to Support Saudi Arabia’s Digital Push With New Software Factory
Lockheed Martin has revealed the establishment of its new software development center in Saudi Arabia, supporting the government’s rapid development of sovereign digital capabilities and the company’s portfolio expansion.
The factory, located in Riyadh, introduces Lockheed’s software development ecosystem to the Middle Eastern country and forms part of a broader shift toward flexible command-and-control architecture, sustained integration and delivery pipelines, and a distributed software factory model.
The site is designed to support scalable tactical, operational, and strategic missions while enabling secure adoption of third-party applications.
Joseph Rank, chief executive for Lockheed Martin Saudi Arabia and Africa, explained that the facility will back the government in “building local capacity and accelerating the transfer of advanced technical expertise.”
Simultaneously, the center will support American jobs while extending the international reach of the US defense industrial base.
“This is a strong example of what can be achieved when Lockheed Martin works closely with Saudi industry and academia to develop world-class, integrated command-and-control capabilities in the Kingdom,” Rank stated.
Local Partnership Now in the Works
Lockheed noted that the software factory has already delivered early results.
Among these milestones is the collaboration with Saudi interns working with the SAMI Advanced Electronics Company under state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries.
The partnership integrated commercial aircraft location data into Lockheed Martin’s CommandIQ battle management suite in less than two weeks.
“SAMI Advanced Electronics Company is committed to strengthening the Kingdom’s sovereign defense capabilities by deepening local engineering expertise,” said Ziad Al-Musallam, chief executive officer at the SAMI Advanced Electronics Company.
He added that the collaboration showed how joint teams can “rapidly integrate advanced software into operational command-and-control environments.”
Alongside the Riyadh software factory, Lockheed Martin is opening a Talent Studio in Saudi Arabia to train indigenous engineers through early-career and leadership-transition tracks.
Starting this year, the program will target the production of thousands of digital enterprise engineers and leaders, bolstering Saudi Arabia’s reliance on domestic expertise.
