DistantNews
Support us
Egypt Banks on Domestic Defense Manufacturing to Curb Military Spending
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Economy & Trade

Egypt Banks on Domestic Defense Manufacturing to Curb Military Spending

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Egypt is boosting domestic defense manufacturing to reduce military spending and secure its supply chain.
  • The strategy includes local production of armored vehicles, drones, and air defense systems, alongside foreign partnerships.
  • This comes as Egypt reported the lowest military spending among Arab states, while global expenditure rose.

Egypt is increasingly turning to domestic defense manufacturing as a strategy to curb military spending and ensure a more secure supply chain. The nation is expanding local production of armored vehicles, drones, and air defense systems, while also diversifying its foreign arms suppliers and pursuing joint-production agreements.

This strategic shift aligns with Egypt posting the lowest military spending among Arab states last year, with defense expenditure representing just 0.61% of its gross domestic product, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Military experts note that local arms production alleviates pressure on foreign-currency reserves, which are essential for imports, and guarantees an uninterrupted supply of military hardware.

The current phase focuses on localizing advanced industrial technologies to improve production efficiency and enhance the competitiveness of Egyptian-made products.

— Salah Mostafa GomblatMinister of State for Military Production on the government's strategy for domestic defense production.

Modern warfare's high consumption of weapons and ammunition makes a consistent supply chain a strategic imperative. Egypt's armed forces have undertaken a comprehensive modernization program, diversifying weaponry sources and forging partnerships with major defense-producing nations. The government is actively promoting greater reliance on locally manufactured defense products.

Minister of State for Military Production Salah Mostafa Gomblat stated that the current focus is on localizing advanced industrial technologies to boost production efficiency and enhance the competitiveness of Egyptian-made goods. This strategy also involves forming new partnerships with the private sector to lower import costs and bolster the national economy. At the EDEX 2025 defense exhibition in Cairo, Egypt showcased domestically produced systems like the Raad 300 rocket launcher and the Jabbar 150 UAV, attracting attention from regional security agencies.

Part of Egypt’s strategy to diversify its sources of armaments is based on localizing military industries.

— Major General Nasr SalemA military analyst discussing Egypt's drive to deepen domestic weapons production.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog