Saudi Arabia purchased 39 Pantsir-S1M missile systems from Russia for over $2 billion, OCCRP investigation finds

Saudi Arabia has acquired 39 Pantsir-S1M air defense systems from Russia in a deal worth €2.2 billion (over $2.3 billion), according to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which cited leaked internal documents from Ruselectronics (Roselektronika), a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec defense corporation.

The analysis, also supported by The Kyiv Independent, reveals that Russia continued exporting advanced weaponry to other nations, including Saudi Arabia, China, India, Algeria, and Egypt, even after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Experts consulted by OCCRP warn that purchasing Russian arms risks secondary U.S. sanctions for these countries.

Under the contract, Saudi Arabia agreed to pay €2.2 billion to state-run defense exporter Rosoboronexport — another Rostec subsidiary — for the delivery of 39 Pantsir-S1M air defense systems, 10 mobile command posts, as well as hundreds of missiles, additional transport vehicles, and communication systems.

Leaked documents include invoices and bank statements showing the contract was signed in April 2021, with the first payment of €326 million made in August 2021. According to the leaked records, part of the equipment was delivered in 2023 — over a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.

The deal may have given Russia access to Saudi Arabia's U.S.-supplied Patriot air defense systems, according to OCCRP. Leaked emails indicate that in 2022, Russia requested and received approval to visit Saudi air defense sites. However, investigators were unable to confirm whether these visits actually took place.

In October 2024, Ukrainian media outlet Defense Express first reported the Saudi purchase of the Pantsir systems. Investigators have now obtained documentary evidence of the transaction, along with a 69-page proposal outlining potential future cooperation between Saudi Arabia and sanctioned Russian firms.

The proposal includes three potential contracts. One calls for the construction of maintenance facilities, the second outlines plans for a 15,000-square-meter center in Jeddah to train personnel on operating the Pantsir system, and the third proposes building an assembly plant in Saudi Arabia to produce Pantsir systems and ammunition.