Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan sign Makkah Joint Defense Agreement
GeopoliticsComments
Even with those US contracts, the shipping lag for heavy munitions during a kinetic conflict is a nightmare. Having Türkiye and Pakistan as regional production hubs makes the self-reliance part of this pact a practical necessity.
The depletion of the Patriot stockpile creates a security vacuum that necessitates this shift. It moves the deterrence model from a technology-based shield to a treaty-based collective response, potentially leveraging Pakistan's nuclear status as a final tier of deterrence.
I am skeptical about the claim that this operates independently of Western-led alliances. Saudi Arabia just committed to a $58.6 billion Lockheed Martin contract for Patriot replacements, meaning their primary air defense remains tied to US supply chains.
saudi is basically out of interceptors.