The Royal Saudi Air Force (Arabic: الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, romanized: Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces.
The Royal Saudi Air Force currently has wings, squadrons, and a Special Forces unit dedicated to combat search and rescue.
The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive capability, and maintains the second largest fleet of F-15s after the U.S.
"The Saudi pilots training in Italy 1935"—a scene from 'Our Eagles', one of four video wall shows made for the Royal Saudi Air Force Museum.
The RSAF was formed in the mid-1920s with British assistance from the remains of the Hejaz Air Force.[3] It was initially equipped with Westland Wapiti IIA general purpose aircraft flown by pilots who had served Ali of Hejaz but had been pardoned by the Saudi king.[4] 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.
As part of the Magic Carpet arms deal between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, four single-seat Hawker Hunter F.6s and two Hunter T.7s were ordered from Hawker in 1966. The aircraft were delivered to No. 6 Squadron at Khamis Mushayt Airbase in May 1966. Although the Hunters were operational following attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Egyptian Air Force they were not a success as interceptors as they lacked any ground control but were used for ground attack. One single-seat aircraft was lost in 1967 and the remaining aircraft were presented to Jordan in 1968.
The Saudi forces are equipped with mainly western equipment. Main suppliers to the RSAF are companies based in the United Kingdom and the United States. 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 strike / ground attack force is formed by ca 70 Tornados (a second 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 remnants of more than 120 F-15C/D aircraft delivered starting in 1981. Pilot training is executed on the Pilatus PC-21 and BAe Hawk. The C-130 Hercules is the mainstay of the transport fleet and the Hercules is assisted by CN-235s and Raytheon King Air 350 light transports. Reconnaissance is performed by Tornadoes and F-15s equipped with the DJRP electro-optical reconnaissance pod. The Boeing E-3A is the Airborne Early Warning platform operated by No. 18 Squadron RSAF.
The VIP support fleet consists of a wide variety of civil registered aircraft such as the Airbus A330, Airbus A320, 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 (Hejaz).
The September 1991 issue of Air Forces Monthly lists Nos 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Tornado IDS), 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 29 Squadron (Dhahran with Tornado ADVs); 34, 37, 42, and 66 Squadrons.[5]
Purchases during the 2000s
The Al Yamamah contract was controversial because of the alleged bribes associated with its award. Nonetheless, the RSAF announced its intention to purchase the 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.[6]
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 17 September 2007 Saudi Arabia announced it had signed a £4.4bn deal with BAE Systems for 72 Typhoons.[7]
On 29 December 2011, the United States signed a $29.4 billion deal to sell 84 F-15s in the SA (Saudi Advanced) configuration. The sale includes upgrades for the older F-15s up to the SA standard and related equipment and services.[8]
On 23 May 2012, the British defence firm BAE Systems agreed to sell 22 BAE Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air Force for a total of £1.9 billion ($3 billion). The deal also included simulators, ground and training equipment and spares.[9] In April 2013, BAE Systems delivered the first two new Typhoons of 24 to Saudi Arabia.
In 2013, the USAF tendered an offer for security services to protect the Saudi air force from cyberwarfare attacks.[10]
In March 2021, RSAF started a joint military exercise, that will last until April 10, with the US and Pakistani Air Forces that will help in exchanging experiences and expertise.[11]
Structure
SAF Roundel on the side of a Lightning Aircraft
The RSAF is divided into nine Wings that are dispersed across seven Air Bases:
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest countries that owns unmanned aerial vehicles, including attack, surveillance, and reconnaissance. In 2012, Saudi Arabia purchased 50 Italian Selex Galileo Falco drones. In 2014, Saudi Arabia signed a contract with China to purchase Wing Loong drones, and Saudi Arabia has more to receive so far.
In April 2013, Saudi Arabia announced its desire to buy 6 Turkish TAI Anka drones, however these efforts fell through.
Saudi Arabia has pursued projects to manufacture national drones, the first of which was in 2012, when Saudi Arabia announced a program to manufacture drones in the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. The project was called Saqr, and 3 new models of the drone have been introduced. Saudi Arabia also announced a new drone called Samoom, the Saudi crown prince showcased the new drone to the Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah As-Sisi during which he showed significant interest in it.
Saudi Arabia also announced in 2021 that it will start producing a high capability drone called SkyGuard. It also established a laboratory for robotic vehicle research at the Prince Sultan Advanced Technology Research Institute at King Saud University. The laboratory aims to build and transfer technology in the field of smart vehicles of all kinds, such as unmanned aircraft, autonomous land vehicles, and others. The laboratory has manufactured many unmanned aircraft, and the aircraft are still undergoing research and development.
Saudi Arabia has started technology transfer projects and joint ventures with countries to manufacture drones. The General organization for Military Industries obtained a license to manufacture the German drone project Luna, manufacturing hundreds of them for the Saudi armed forces. Saudi Arabia entered also entered a joint venture with South Africa to manufacture the Seeker 400UCAV.
Commanders
The following officers have been commanders of the RSAF:
^David Fromkin (2010). A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. Macmillan. ISBN978-0-8050-8809-0.
^Reader, Bullard; Hodgkin, E. C. (1993). Two Kings in Arabia: Letters from Jeddah, 1923-5 and 1936-9. Reading: Ithaca Press. p. 101. ISBN978-0-86372-167-0.
^al-Mutawiya, Khaled (2015). "المملكة-اليوم" [The Kingdom Today]. alyaum.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
^"Defenders of the Faithful: Royal Saudi Air Force," Air Forces Monthly, September 1991, 23.
Saudi Arabia
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