Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, SAMI‑AEC, a subsidiary of SAMI – a PIF company, announced its strategic collaboration with Lockheed Martin in the opening of a new software factory in Riyadh. The initiative is intended to accelerate the local development of advanced software solutions, strengthen national software engineering capabilities, and support Saudi Arabia’s evolving digital command and control ecosystem.
The software factory will serve as an advanced platform for end to end software development, rapid prototyping, integration, testing, and deployment. It will enable Saudi teams to deliver mission-relevant software enhancements more quickly and more efficiently across diverse operational environments, while embedding disciplined engineering practices and structured knowledge transfer. The facility also provides a professional environment for talent development, including hands-on training, mentoring, and exposure to global best practices in secure software engineering and systems integration.
By creating a local center of excellence for software development and integration, the collaboration supports the Kingdom’s broader objectives to grow national technical capabilities and strengthen operational autonomy in critical digital domains, aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.
Within the first two weeks of the collaboration, Saudi engineers and trainees from SAMI-AEC worked alongside Lockheed Martin teams to develop an operational capability that integrates commercial aircraft location data directly into the operational common picture within Lockheed Martin’s CommandIQ™ system. This early delivery highlights the speed and effectiveness of local technical integration, and demonstrates how close collaboration between Saudi engineering teams and global technology leaders can rapidly translate into tangible capability outcomes.
Ziad Al-Musallam, CEO of SAMI-AEC, said: “We are proud to collaborate with Lockheed Martin in opening the software factory in Riyadh. This initiative reflects our commitment to developing local capabilities in software and digital solutions and to building a robust environment where Saudi engineers can gain practical, high-impact technical expertise. The software factory strengthens readiness, accelerates integration outcomes, and contributes to the continued advancement of the Kingdom’s digital command and control ecosystem.”
The software factory is expected to support the delivery of scalable software capabilities, reduce cycle time for integration and enhancements, and expand opportunities for Saudi engineers to contribute directly to complex software development programs. It also reinforces SAMI-AEC’s long-term focus on building sustainable national capabilities by enabling structured skills development and advancing a modern, resilient digital ecosystem within the Kingdom.
About SAMI‑AEC
Founded in 1988 in Riyadh, SAMI-AEC is a leading organization in the fields of electronic manufacturing and advanced technologies in the region. The company plays a pivotal role in empowering national talent and creating quality opportunities that meet future needs across high-value technical domains. SAMI-AEC’s workforce consists of more than 4,300 employees, 82% of whom are highly qualified Saudi nationals, including more than 1,600 certified engineers and experts, reflecting the company’s commitment to excellence, capability development, and innovation.