Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Saudi Defense firm Scopa drops US alliance, diverts to Russia, China

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Intelligence Online
  • 7 Mar 2023 15:58
  • 2 Shares
3 Min Read

This planned campaign poses a concern to US stakeholders due to potential industrial espionage of NATO defense platforms and systems, a purchase target of Scopa.

  • x
  • Aerospace company Paramount Group's Mbombe on the Scopa stand at the World Defense Show in Riyadh, undated (Twitter)
    Aerospace company Paramount Group's Mbombe on the Scopa stand at the World Defense Show in Riyadh, undated (Twitter)

The Saudi defense firm Scopa has decided to favor a rapprochement between its parent company Ajlan & Bros, and Russian and Chinese firms instead of US firms.

According to Intelligence Online, the US branch of Scopa Industries, which intended to build foreign military materiel on Saudi soil, shut down on February 26. The conglomerate's deputy chairman, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Ajlan, began layoffs in the US team, which consists of former high-ranking military officers serving as consultants, and led by a US Central Command veteran, Nasr Alghrairi.

Ajlan & Bros's continued tie-building with Russian and Chinese defense firms amid sanctions has been building tensions instead.

In 2021, when Scopa was established, Al-Ajlan launched TAL, the sister company for the Chinese defense market. Al-Ajlan then built Sepha, a company focused on Russia this time, and in the hands of Eduard Kukharchuk, the former business development director of the Kremlin's electronic warfare contractor Concern Granit.

Related News

Why Europe's regulatory power is no longer enough: FT

Europe's Trump concessions risk democracy, trade losses: FT op-ed

Scopa in France remains on a rocky road

Back in November, Ajlan & Bros launched a campaign to bring the three companies - TAL, Sepha, and Scopa - under one defense and intelligence group managed by the former strategy director at the Saudi defense ministry, Fawaz al-Aqeel.

This planned campaign, heavily supported by Al-Akeel, posed a concern to US stakeholders due to potential industrial espionage of NATO defense platforms and systems - a purchase target of Scopa. 

Sepha and TAL were said to have dealt secret partnerships with companies from countries potentially under sanctions, after convincing several US executives to resign. OFAC, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, and DDTC, the US Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, were informed afterward. 

Scopa's fate in Europe and especially France remains foggy. However, Faisal Bin Dos, the firm's French-Saudi technology director, is still in his position. Scopa was in the middle of positioning consultants for the area and just hired retired French Navy Vice Admiral Bernard Velly, right before the war in Ukraine.

The firm's negotiations with US manufacturers, like Raytheon and L3 Harris, as a result, remain dead deals. 

Deals with France's Airbus, Nexter, and a reluctant Thales, Italian arms manufacturer Beretta and British drone manufacturer U-TacS may well go the same way.

  • Europe
  • Scopa Industries
  • US
  • France
  • KSA
  • Saudi Arabia

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS