News - World: An investigation conducted by the German magazine “Der Spiegel” revealed that Saudi Arabia was able to obtain weapons through a German company. 

According to the investigation, it is related to the radars installed in the border area with Yemen, in addition to various weapons and military vehicles. The documents also revealed that the German federal government owns about a quarter of the company that exported the weapons.

According to the investigation, the matter began through contacts made between the Saudi government and the German company, Hensoldt, based in Bavaria, where a number of deals between the German company and Saudi Arabia were monitored, some of which were conducted secretly.

On September 24, 2020, enthusiasm prevailed in the German company, as communication was made between Riyadh and the executive management, to obtain radars of a special kind.

The documents obtained by the German magazine talk about providing Saudi Arabia with vehicles for the Saudi special forces, as well as surveillance technology and radars for minesweepers and border guards. Hensoldt also showed the Saudi General Intelligence Service a system to counter drones. 

How can a German company be so active in its trade with Saudi Arabia, despite an export ban in the country since 2018? Why is a group of all companies, about a quarter of which are owned by the federal government, dealing with Saudi Arabia?

According to the investigations, it appears that Hensoldt took some difficult ways to get around the strict regulations. It seems that the assertion of economic interests against political principles was stronger than prevention, as the German magazine saw.

The documents, on the other hand, reveal how Hensoldt has been eagerly trying to get new orders from Saudi Arabia - including through production facilities in the UK and South Africa, where German export regulations do not apply.

The documents were provided to Spiegel by specialized hackers, and the magazine confirmed that it did not pay for these documents and that it decided to publish them after consulting with the authorities for the public interest.

Government Role in The Company's Acquisition

The documents reveal that in December 2020, the federal government announced that it would buy a 25.1% stake in the arms company, paying an exorbitant price of 450 million euros. 

The government argued at the time that Hensoldt's "key technologies for the security and defense industry" should not fall into the wrong hands. In the opinion of the magazine, it is clear that Hensoldt was allowed to work with the wealthy rulers of the Middle East.

The company has installed radars, sensors, target detection systems and jamming devices in large European armament projects such as the Eurofighter fighter jet. It is the next generation of combat aircraft, known as FCAS, which will also be equipped with technology from Hensoldt.

Orientation to The Saudi Market
After the separation from Airbus, Hensoldt continued commercial relations with private customers of its parent company, since Airbus has already exported a large-scale border control system to Saudi Arabia since 2009. This is what the German company has benefited from in its contacts and against it.

The company established a sales office in Riyadh, which was registered in the commercial register under the number 1010473985, Hensoldt Holding Germany GmbH, Saudi branch.

 According to internal documents, the contract was concluded by the German subsidiary's branch itself.

In March 2018, the Union and the Social Democratic Party stipulated in their alliance agreement that “from now on they will not agree to any exports to countries whose direct involvement in the Yemen war is proven.” At the time, the United Nations described the conflict, which has killed thousands of civilians, as "the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our time." However, arms exports to Saudi Arabia were approved worth at least €416.4 million for 2018.

Overcoming the ban through a mediator
In order to get around the arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, the German arms company hired a French arms dealer named Sebastien Chideau, who lives in Riyadh.

The Frenchman boasted in an email that he had a good relationship with the company and also with “some intelligence officials from the Saudi Navy’s special forces, which he benefited from in breaking the ice. He also offered the Saudis Hensoldt's Xpeller anti-drone missile system. Chidu also wrote to the company that the Saudis are interested in radars with a range of 3 kilometers to detect drones.

Hensoldt's Xpeller anti-drone system could help fend off these drone attacks and has been the basis for talks between the French broker and the Saudis. The documents showed that the German company had also supplied new radars to Saudi ships.