THE PETRO-MONARCHIES of the Gulf are celebrated big spenders(花钱大手大脚的人/机构)—not least(尤其是) by the West’s defence industry. Their oil wealth pays for about a fifth of global arms imports, with a shopping list ranging from fighter jets to frigates(护卫舰). In a noisy, volatile(动荡的，易变的) neighbourhood, safety comes at a price.
海湾地区的石油君主国是出了名的挥金如土——尤其是在西方国防工业眼中。它们的石油财富支付了全球约五分之一的武器进口，采购清单从战斗机到护卫舰不一而足。在这个喧闹动荡的地区，安全是有代价的。
Now the rich rulers are nurturing(培育，扶持) their own defence industries, hoping to reduce their reliance on the West. Not surprisingly, the Iran war has hardened(使坚定，强化) this ambition. Saudi Arabia intends that by 2030 half its arms budget will be spent at home, up from a quarter today, and that Saudi Arabia Military Industries (SAMI) will be in the world’s top 25 defence firms by revenue. Yet so far the state-owned enterprise(国有企业), which has joint ventures with Boeing, an American aerospace giant, among others, mainly produces spare parts for American fighter jets and a few lines of armoured vehicles(装甲车). Qatar’s Barzan Holdings is likewise ambitious but small(同样雄心勃勃但规模很小).
如今，这些富有的统治者正在培育自己的国防工业，希望减少对西方的依赖。毫不意外的是，伊朗战争强化了这一雄心。沙特阿拉伯打算到2030年将一半的军费预算用于国内，而目前这一比例为四分之一，并希望沙特阿拉伯军事工业公司（SAMI）的收入能跻身全球防务公司前25名。然而迄今为止，这家与美国航空巨头波音等公司有合资企业的国有企业，主要生产美国战斗机的备件和少量装甲车。卡塔尔的Barzan Holdings同样雄心勃勃，但规模很小。
It is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where momentum(势头，动力) is strongest. In 2019 around 25 Emirati companies were merged to form the EDGE Group, a national defence champion. It has since bought majority stakes(多数股权) in several foreign firms, and in May agreed to acquire 80% of Costruzioni Motori Diesel, an Italian engine-maker. It has stakes of 51% in ventures with two other Italian firms, Leonardo (in a range of areas) and Fincantieri (in shipbuilding), and a partnership with Germany’s Rheinmetall (in air defence). In November it formed a joint venture(合资企业) with Anduril, a fast-rising American defence-tech firm, to make drones for the UAE and its allies.
最强劲的势头出现在阿拉伯联合酋长国（UAE）。2019年，约25家阿联酋公司合并成立了EDGE集团，这是一家国家防务冠军企业。此后，它购买了几家外国公司的多数股权，并于5月同意收购意大利发动机制造商Costruzioni Motori Diesel的80%股份。它与另外两家意大利企业——莱昂纳多（Leonardo）（多个领域）和芬坎蒂尼（Fincantieri）（造船）——合资持有51%的股份，并与德国莱茵金属公司（Rheinmetall）（防空领域）建立了合作伙伴关系。11月，它与快速崛起的美国防务技术公司安杜里尔（Anduril）成立合资企业，为阿联酋及其盟友制造无人机。