The Royal Saudi Air Force, is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabian armed forces.
The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive
capability.
The RSAF maintains the third largest fleet of F-15s after the USAF and the JASDF.
The backbone of the RSAF is currently the Boeing F-15 Eagle, with the Panavia Tornado
also forming a major component.
The Tornado and many other aircraft were delivered under the Al Yamamah contracts with British
Aerospace.
The RSAF ordered various weapons in the 1990s, including Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles, laser-guided
bombs and gravity bombs.
Al-Salam, a successor to the Al Yamamah agreement will see 72 Eurofighter Typhoons delivered
by BAE.
History The RSAF was formed in the mid-1920s with
British assistance.
It was re-organized in 1950 and began to receive American assistance from 1952 including the
use of Dhahran Airfield by the United States Air Force.
The Saudi forces are equipped with mainly western hardware.
Main suppliers are companies in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Both the UK and the US are involved in training programs conducted in Saudi Arabia.
During the 1980s and 1990s, by Middle Eastern standards the armed forces of Saudi Arabia
were relatively small.
Its strength however was derived from advanced technology.
The backbone of the fighter force is formed by 134 Panavia Tornados from which a batch
of 48 Tornado IDS were ordered in 1993 under the al-Yamamah II program and 72 F-15S aircraft
delivered from the mid-1990s that operate beside the more than 120 F-15C/D aircraft
delivered starting in 1981.
Aircraft training is executed on the Pilatus PC-9, BAe Hawk, Boeing F-15D Eagle and the
Northrop F-5F Tiger II.
The C-130 Hercules is the mainstay of the transport fleet and the Hercules is assisted
by CASA CN-235s.
Reconnaissance is performed by 17 Squadron with its RF-5E and the Boeing E-3A is the
Airborne Early Warning platform operated by 18 Squadron.
The VIP support fleet consists of a wide variety of civil registered aircraft such as the Boeing
707, 737 and 747, Lockheed Tri-Stars, MD11s and G1159A as well as Lockheed L-100-30.
The HZ- prefix used in the civilian registrations of these aircraft derived from the former
name of the territory Recent purchases
The Al Yamamah contract was controversial because of the alleged bribes associated with
its award.
Nonetheless, the RSAF announced its intention to purchase the Eurofighter Typhoon from BAE
Systems in December 2005.
On 18 August 2006 a memorandum of understanding was signed for 72 aircraft in a GB£6-10 billion
deal.
Following this order, the investigation of the Al Yamamah contract was suppressed by
the British Prime minister Tony Blair in December 2006, citing "strategic interests" of the
UK.
On the 17 September 2007 Saudi Arabia announced it had signed a £4.4bn deal with BAE Systems
for 72 Eurofighter Typhoons.
On 29 December 2011, the United States signed a $29.4 billion deal to sell 84 F-15s in the
SA configuration.
The sale includes upgrades for the older F-15s up to the SA standard and related equipment
and services.
On 23 May 2012, British defence firm BAE Systems is to sell 22 BAE Hawk advanced jet trainer
aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air Force for a total of £1.9 billion.
The deal also includes simulators, ground and training equipment and spares.
On April 2013, British defence firm BAE Systems delivers the first two new Typhoon Eurofighters
of 24 to KSA.
In 2013, the USAF tendered for security services to protect the Saudi air force from Cyberwarfare.
Divisions
The RSAF units are divided into Wings that are dispersed across the seven air bases:
RSAF Wing 1 at King Khaled Air Base RSAF Wing 2 at King Fahd Air Base, Taif
RSAF Wing 3 at King Abdulaziz Air Base, Dhahran RSAF Wing 4 at King Khalid Military City,
Al Kharj RSAF Wing 5 at King Khalid Air Base, Khamis
Mushait RSAF Wing 6 at Prince Sultan Air Base, Al
Kharj RSAF Wing 7 at King Faisal Air Base, Tabuk
RSAF Wing 8 at Prince Abdullah Air Base, Jeddah RSAF Wing 11 at King Abdulaziz Air Base, Dhahran
Units of the RSAF
1 Squadron 2 Squadron
3 Squadron 4 Squadron
5 Squadron 6 Squadron
7 Squadron 8 Squadron
9 Squadron 10 Squadron
11 Squadron 12 Squadron
13 Squadron 14 Squadron
15 Squadron 16 Squadron
18 Squadron 19 Squadron
21 Squadron 22 Squadron
27 Squadron 29 Squadron
30 Squadron 32 Squadron
33 Squadron 34 Squadron
35 Squadron 37 Squadron
44 Squadron 55 Squadron
75 Squadron 77 Squadron
79 Squadron 83 Squadron
88 Squadron 92 Squadron
99 Squadron Current aircraft inventory
On 11 August 2011, The Saudi Royal Air Force received 48 Typhoons from British Royal Air
Force.
On 12 August 2009, UPI reported that Saudi Arabia was seeking upgrades for their E-3
fleet and aerial refuelling tanker aircraft.
In October 2010, an interest for a 60 billion USD defense procurement package from the US
was unveiled.
It consisted of around 30 billion for 84 F-15SA fighters, upgrade of the existing F-15S to
the same standard, parts and munitions as well as other 30 billion for 72 UH-60M, 36
AH-6I, 36 AH-64D, 12 MD530 helicopters and parts.
The helicopter request is for the Saudi Arabian Army.
Combat aircraft Commanders
The following officers have been commanders of the RSAF:
1985–1996, Lieutenant General Ahmed Ibrahim Behery
Unknown, Lieutenant General Abdul Aziz bin Mohammad Al-Henadi
5 April 2004, Prince Lieutenant General Abdulrahman bin Fahd Al-Faisal
Lieutenant General Mohamed Al Ayesh Lieutenant General Fayyadh H. AL Ruwaili
See also Royal Saudi Air Force Museum
Saudi ranks References
External links RSAF official website
Order of Battle at Scramble magazine [6] "The Royal Saudi Air Force - A Paper Tiger,
Minus the Tiger"