- 5
- 16.09.2023 06:52:00
- 2 min read
The American company RTX negotiated with the Saudi Arabian firm Scopa Defense to sell billions of dollars in weapons. But the profitable deal suddenly collapsed in early 2023.
According to the report, the American side withdrew from the agreement when it became known that Saudi partners were simultaneously negotiating agreements with Chinese and Russian companies under Washington sanctions.
RTX and Scopa had agreed in 2022 to build a plant in Saudi Arabia that would develop sophisticated air defense systems protecting against missiles and drones. The plan envisaged combining radars capable of intercepting targets of various sizes, speeds and heights, and several air defense systems that would protect an area of 20.7 square meters.
The system was called a "multipurpose battery". The joint venture between RTX and Scopa involved $ 25 billion in investment and $ 17 billion in sales, a plan the publication calls “megabitim”.
Scopa planned to produce many NATO weapons in Saudi Arabia, which meant access to technologies protected by international arms trade regulations. WSJ writes, Based on sources and documents, that two other companies of the founder of Scopa tried to do business with sanctioned firms in Russia, Belarus and China; it was these contacts that caused concern in RTX.
Scopa had fired the company's owner and CEO, who expressed concern about the sanctions. Scopa owner Mohamed Alajlan said that he does not do business with Russian companies, while with Chinese companies he is limited only to the purchase of copper, rubber and other raw materials.
He called RTX's decision to end the debate “urgent, illogical and even irrational”. Nevertheless, several other Western companies were also reluctant to cooperate with Scopa. Among them are the Italian shipping company Beretta Defence Technologies and Fincantieri. WSJ sources note that one of the reasons is concerns about cooperation with Russia and China.
