The story
The notion of delegating the assembly, maintenance and advancement of Saudi military capabilities to a sovereign entity was first introduced by King Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1949. A royal decree was issued, stipulating the establishment of a weapons and artillery plant on September 8, 1950. Contract agreements were concluded with two corporations for the supply of the necessary equipment and apparatus to be installed at the premises of the new factory.
This step was taken with a number of objectives in mind, chief among them was achieving self-sufficiency for the Saudi army. It sought to assert the sovereignty of the kingdom's armed forces and other military sectors in regard of weaponry and ammunition supplies, and aimed to further the training and employment of Saudi nationals. Another key objective was to assimilate and implement relevant industry technologies.
Production at the ammunition factory began in 1953, and was followed by projects to acquire the necessary expertise and to train local plant personnel. A new munitions factory was opened in Al-Kharj in 2016, in partnership with the German/South African company Rheinmetall Denel Munition.
From Wikipedia’s article on Military Industries Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3