皇冠体育app

60 years ago, the skies above Riyadh bore witness to a remarkable demonstration as a supersonic aircraft shot into the atmosphere at twice the speed of sound.

Just two years later and 40 of those iconic聽English Electric Lightning jets were heading to Saudi Arabia where they became as revered an icon of the skies over here as they were back in the UK.

Yet that special flight also seemed to send our own partnership into the stratosphere.

1964 saw the first British military mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, and 14 years after that we brought across a project team which has been supporting you with advice, information and communications service ever since.

So that one pioneering flight demonstrated ours is a partnership built from the strongest of frames. An understanding of the value of Defence, an appreciation of the merits of innovation, and a desire to keep working together.

And how fitting then that 60 years on, here at this fantastic World Defense Show, we are once again celebrating a partnership that鈥檚 putting on the afterburners.

Not only can we reflect on a mutual commitment to combat air that鈥檚 taken us from Lightning, to Tornado, to Typhoon - with hundreds of UK military personnel now committed to聽Saudi programmes.

But we have also stepped up the pace on the ground as well, with our Defence Cooperation Plan catalysing deeper cooperation between our Land Forces.

However, my purpose in attending this great exhibition is not to reminisce about our past, nor even to reflect on our present, it is to talk about our future.

Because if the incredible story of the Lightning tells us anything, it鈥檚 that when an opportunity arises in聽our mutual interests, we know how to seize it聽together.

And frankly, when I look around me, I see opportunity abounds.

Yours is a nation buzzing with energy. Creating new cities out of sand, redefining sport by hosting the World Cup in E-sports. Spearheading the charge towards a greener future.

Yet if there鈥檚 one event that seemed to encapsulate your sense of ambition, it was what happened last year, when聽Saudi fighter pilot and astronaut, Ali Al-Qarni, and聽his crew member, Rayyanah聽Barnawi, became the first two聽Saudi astronauts to visit the International Space Station.

Proof - if it were needed - that you are nation in fast forward.

You鈥檝e bottled lightning, and now you鈥檙e accelerating towards the future with increasing velocity.

皇冠体育app UK wants to be on that journey with you. But there鈥檚 only one thing that can pull us back down to earth.

Instability.

For decades our prosperity and progress has been underpinned by the international rules-based order, yet today we live in a far more dangerous world. Our once reliable order is under threat from the likes of big state aggressors and from rogue states, whose terrorist proxies are hell-bent on destroying our freedom and damaging our wealth.

So now is the time to tighten our ties.

How? First by working together - in the words of your conference, to be equipped for tomorrow.

Once upon a time we showcased a jet in your skies. Today we鈥檝e brought more than 30 of our finest UK firms to your show, including a Wildcat helicopter, delivered by one of our Royal Air Force鈥檚 A400M transport aircraft.

Demonstrating our skills not just in the air, but on land, sea, cyber and space. Our delegation are experts in power and engines, in critical components and complex weapons, in state-of-the-art surveillance and next generation electronic warfare.

Our people know everything there is to know in mine counter-measures and military suspension and durable materials, 3D sensors, sonars, and uncrewed systems.

But my second point is that we are looking for much more than聽a transient transaction.

We want to build an even deeper industrial partnership.

Saudi Arabia quite rightly wants to develop its own defence industrial base - and we want to help you get there - developing mutually beneficial capability programmes to support regional security.

Already we have a deep industrial partnership stretching across air, land, sea and cyber.

To take just one example, BAE鈥檚 workforce here in Saudi Arabia is almost 75 per cent Saudi.

Which brings me to my third and final point: Both our nations share聽pressing strategic priorities.

We both seek to calm conflicts. We both desire de-escalation. And even as Saudi Arabia aims for the stars, so its influence on terra firma is increasing too.

It has a critical role to play in this region as聽interlocutors, as mediators聽and聽as leaders.

So I see us doing more together to help shore up our international rules-based order. Doing more to ensure adherence to international humanitarian law. Doing more to prevent a breakdown in regional security, so we guarantee the safety and security of all people.

Sixty years ago, we brought Lightning to this great Kingdom and helped transform our partnership.

Sixty years on, we鈥檙e now looking to elevate our relationship to even greater heights.

I, for one, am a strong believer that Lightning can strike twice.