RIYADH: Speakers at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh did not shy away from addressing what could otherwise have been the elephant in the room: The death of Jamal Khashoggi.
Numerous speakers had pulled out of the event over the death of the Saudi journalist in the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Khashoggi’s death was the result of a “rogue operation” by people acting beyond the scope of Saudi authorities, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Sunday.
Many speakers due to attend the FII — mostly those from Western organizations — had pulled out due to allegations the Saudi government was complicit in Khashoggi’s death.
But speakers at the FII on Tuesday tackled the issue head-on, calling the death “abhorrent” and promising justice.
“These are difficult days for us in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are going through a crisis, of sorts, resulting from the very regrettable and abhorrent incident that took place in Turkey,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih told the audience.
“Nobody in the Kingdom can justify it or explain it. From the leadership on down, we are very upset about what has happened,” he added.
“The king has made it clear that there will be an investigation, justice and retribution to those responsible.”
The prominent Saudi business executive Lubna Olayan also remarked on the case, saying that the “terrible acts reported in recent weeks are alien to our culture and DNA.”
Al-Falih said that, despite the ongoing “crisis” due to the case, the ambitious reforms that Saudi Arabia is undertaking would continue.
“The Kingdom is in the midst of a historic transformation of unprecedented proportions, and the train has moved, and it has moved deliberately toward a transformation journey that will not be stopped,” he said.
“Those partners who are here with us today, to continue their journey with us are certainly going to look back and find out how the lessons have been learned from the incident, but at the same time how committed the Kingdom is to its partners who stay the course.”
FII delegates pay tribute to Khashoggi, say ‘terrible act not part of our DNA’
FII delegates pay tribute to Khashoggi, say ‘terrible act not part of our DNA’
Automatic defense systems ‘hugely important’ in dealing with threats
RIYADH: Automatic defensive systems that respond to threats in real time without human intervention are “hugely important” in modern air defense, a senior executive at Lockheed Martin told Arab News at the World Defense Show in Riyadh on Thursday.
Joseph Rank, chief executive and vice president at Lockheed Martin Saudi Arabia and Africa, said the ability to connect detection systems directly to interceptors without delay is critical when responding to fast-moving threats such as missiles and drones.
“Integration is hugely important today. There’s so many threats, and the way you deal with threats in a real-time basis is by having everything integrated,” Rank said.
He described systems in which sensors identify incoming projectiles and automatically communicate with defensive assets.
“Your sensors or your radars have to see the incoming missiles or drones, but you don’t want to wait and have a human in loop … The sensors communicate automatically to the missiles that are going to knock those out of the air,” he said.
Rank said latency must be minimal to ensure an effective response.
“The latency has to be almost like nothing there, like a nanosecond, so that immediately, when you pick up that incoming missile or drone, it’s automatically communicated, no human in the loop that’s there,” he said.
He spoke about how the company uses a system called Command IQ to support this interconnectivity, linking sensors and interceptors in real time and incorporating artificial intelligence to assess response options.
The system works by “connecting everything together, sensors to shooters in real time, and it also integrates artificial intelligence. So, it gives you the best options.
“You might have three or four options to shoot or eliminate that drone. It gives you what’s the most cost-effective, what has the most probability of kill. And so, it helps you protect your citizens here, the citizens of the Kingdom.”
Beyond system integration, Rank also addressed the company’s operations in Saudi Arabia, describing a shift from supplying equipment to carrying out manufacturing and maintenance activities locally.
“We used to sell things to the Kingdom. Now we actually make things here in the Kingdom,” he said.
The company is meeting or exceeding the country’s 60 percent localization requirement and is investing in workforce development, he added.
Rank said that the company, which has operated in Saudi Arabia for 60 years, intends to continue expanding its role, including through future co-development of systems in Saudi Arabia.
“We’re going to build new things here in the Kingdom that will be for the Kingdom’s use, and we will export abroad.”
The company also announced in a statement on Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Arabian International Co. for Steel Structures to expand localized production of components for the advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense weapon system.
