
Saudi Arabia was ranked the fifth largest defense spending country in 2023, allocating $72.5 billion for defense spending in the 2025 budget, amid questions about its military capacity as tensions with the Houthis escalate.
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Saudi Arabia is ranked among the world's largest defense spending countries, with a quest to localize 50% of military purchases by 2030.
What military power does Saudi Arabia have to respond to Houthi attacks?
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was ranked the fifth largest country in the world spending on defense in 2023, after the United States, China, Russia and India, according to the International Trade Administration of the US Department of Commerce.
The Kingdom's 2025 budget allocated $72.5 billion for defense spending, equivalent to approximately 21.2% of its total budget.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the Kingdom has historically imported approximately 80% of its weapons from the United States.
Within the framework of the Economic Diversification Program of Vision 2030, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks to localize 50% of its military purchases by 2030, under the supervision of two military industrial bodies: the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) and the Saudi Company for Military Industries (SAMI).
As tensions escalate between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen, questions are increasing about Saudi Arabia’s military ability to respond to Houthi attacks.

Two Saudi pilots were killed after their helicopter crashed in Najran due to a technical malfunction, and the coalition announces this in conjunction with the Houthis’ announcement of shooting down a drone, air threats in Riyadh, and an accelerating military escalation.

A fire and serious accident at the Wainwright Military Base in the Canadian province of Alberta caused deaths and injuries, amid a medical and emergency alert in Edmonton and ongoing investigations.

The Saudi-led military coalition announced the death of two pilots when their helicopter crashed in Najran due to a technical malfunction, coinciding with the Houthis’ announcement of shooting down an armed reconnaissance plane in Hajjah, and the continuation of mutual attacks and regional tensions.

An investigation reveals that Russia has formed military units that include former Ukrainian prisoners of war, such as the Maxim Krivonis Battalion, amid reports of the use of torture and coercion for recruitment, and the story of a Ukrainian soldier who succeeded in escaping and returning to his country.

The coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen thwarted Houthi weapons smuggling operations across the sea towards Hodeidah, and intercepted two ballistic missiles and a march towards Khamis Mushait and Riyadh, coinciding with confrontations in Taiz and Saudi-British-Jordanian diplomatic efforts to prevent the smuggling of weapons and dual-use technologies.

The official spokesman for the coalition forces, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, announced the interception and destruction of two ballistic missiles and a march launched by the Houthi militias towards Khamis Mushait and Riyadh. Earlier, the Saudi Civil Defense issued an early warning in Riyadh, Abha and Khamis Mushait before declaring the danger had passed. This came after the coalition announced on Saturday the interception and destruction of 4 marches in three Saudi regions and the destruction of two ballistic missile launching pads in Saada. In a separate context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs discussed Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Al-Safadi, regional developments and the importance of joint coordination, while the foreign ministers of the Gulf states in Manama discuss developments in the regional and international situations and enhancing political coordination and joint action in conjunction with the holding of a new round of the Gulf-Russian strategic dialogue.