KPMG shaping insights and discussions at World Defense Show as Knowledge Partner
Taking place in Riyadh this week, the World Defense Show is one of the world’s leading events in the defense sector. As its official Knowledge Partner, KPMG is playing a central role in shaping discussions and contributing to thought leadership.
The conference, which began on Sunday, 8 February, runs through tomorrow and brings together senior government leaders, defense manufacturers and technology innovators from around the world. Organizers have already hailed this edition as the most successful to date, attracting more than 130,000 visitors.
Across the 5-day conference, KPMG published a series of five white papers, focused on localization and local content, ecosystem integration, sovereignty, financing and technology.
Localization and local content
The paper on localization and local content highlights how Saudi Arabia’s defense sector has over the years shifted from a procurement-led model toward a capability-driven ecosystem. According to KPMG’s report, defense localization in Saudi Arabia has increased from around 4% in 2018 to 24.9% in 2024, with the Kingdom targeting 50% localization by 2030.
At the same time, local content across the defense sector has reached 40.7%, up from 38.4% in 2023, reflecting deeper integration across procurement, industrial participation, technology adoption, and workforce development.
KPMG’s findings emphasize that modern defense power is no longer defined by platforms and equipment alone, but by the ability to design, operate, integrate, and sustain advanced systems at scale. While technology, infrastructure, and capital investment remain critical enablers, the position paper highlights that defense transformation has a significant human-capital focus, recognizing that skills, data literacy, and local expertise are essential to maximizing the performance, resilience, and sovereignty of advanced defense capabilities.
The research also situates Saudi Arabia’s progress within a global economic context. An international benchmark shows that every $1 billion in defense manufacturing output in the United States supports approximately 5,700 jobs, while the UK defense sector contributes around £25 billion to GDP and sustains 260,000 skilled jobs.
Across the European Union, defense industries employ more than 1.6 million people and generate approximately €70 billion in annual value. KPMG’s researchers note that similar dynamics are beginning to emerge in Saudi Arabia as localization accelerates and private-sector participation expands.
The other reports
The three other reports recommend policy makers in Saudi Arabia to accelerate the development of sovereign defense ecosystems (in areas such as industry and technology), further mature the technology infrastructure and adopt AI-driven applications, and support the financing of major future investments through public-private partnerships and other financing options.
Launch of two indexes
At the World Defense Show, KPMG also launched two new indexes, each of which helps policy makers shape and advance their agenda.
The new National Critical Industry Readiness Index (NCIRI) is a structured framework designed to measure and strengthen national readiness across critical industries, with defense among the critical industries highlighted in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The index supports governments in shifting from reactive crisis management to anticipatory governance for their most important sectors.
Patrick Walthuis, Director at KPMG: “NCIRI is built on the premise that national resilience emerges from the interaction of multiple domains rather than isolated capabilities. Our methodology assesses industry capacity, workforce availability, capital adequacy, technology maturity, supply-chain robustness, governance, and supporting infrastructure as an integrated system. This provides a holistic view of readiness instead of a fragmented assessment of individual components.”
The second index is the so-called Defense Workforce Capability Index (DWCI), which links workforce outcomes to operational readiness. The index tracks localization rates, technical qualification levels in advanced and digital systems, and the share of maintenance and sustainment conducted domestically, aligning human-capital metrics with broader defense performance objectives.
Comment from practice leader
Christopher Moore, Head of Defense and Security across the Middle East, said that KPMG is delighted to serve as the event’s official Knowledge Partner. “Through our partnership with the World Defense Show, KPMG is proud to contribute insight and frameworks that help translate Vision 2030 ambition into operational readiness.”
KPMG is a big name in the world of defense advisory, both in the region as well as globally. In 2025, the firm was named the leading management consulting firm in the defense sector in an industry-wide benchmark.
