Saudi and UAE driving GCC defence
The two military heavyweights of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are driving defence procurement in the region with recent increases due in part to operations against Houthi forces in Yemen.
With an estimated spend of $87.2 billion, Saudi Arabia had the highest military expenditure in the GCC in 2015. In fact, having doubled its spending since 2006, the country rose to third in the rankings of the biggest spenders globally, according to the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database 2015. Though it did have the third largest defence budget for last year – $81.9 billion – recorded
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