The Armor Market in the Middle East

The Middle East accounts for over 10.5 percent of armored vehicle fleets in the world, with active procurement programs in Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE. The region is expected to continue to invest in armored vehicles until at least the end of the decade. Industry analysts suspect many will accelerate those plans if the fight against ISIS continues to increase.

The Middle East accounts for over 10.5 percent of armored vehicle fleets in the world, with active procurement programs in Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE. The region is expected to continue to invest in armored vehicles until at least the end of the decade. Industry analysts suspect many will accelerate those plans if the fight against ISIS continues to increase.

The Middle East is expected to boost vehicle procurement volumes over the next ten years in anticipation of US and European reduction of troops in the region. Saudi Arabia, for example, has the fourth largest military budget in the world and spent 10.4 percent of GDP on defense in 2014 and increased to 17 percent by the end of 2015. Qatar is also significantly boosting its defense capabilities, most notably with entering into a $23 billion purchase agreement for attack helicopters, guided missiles, tankers and other weapons in 2014.

Some of the key armored vehicle acquisition programs in the region include the 1,050 Cougar-based light armored vehicles that have been authorized for Iraq, along with 16 M548A1 tracked logistic vehicles, 8 M113A2 armored ambulances. and 8 MMWWVs; 600 NAMER APCs delivered to Israel; 62 Leopard 2A7 MBTs ordered by Qatar; and 724 LAV II 8x8 being delivered to Saudi Arabia.