Royal Saudi Air Force
The Royal Saudi Air Forces RSAF 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, and maintains the third largest fleet of F-15s after the U.S. and Japanese air forces.
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 48 Eurofighter Typhoons delivered by BAE.
History
The RSAF was formed in the mid-1920s with British assistance from the remains of the Hejaz Air Force. It was initially equipped with Westland Wapiti IIA general purpose aircraft flown by pilots who had served Ali of Hejaz but had pardoned by the Saudi king. 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 strike / ground attack force is formed by ca 70 Tornados, 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 Tornada and F-15s equipped with the DJRP electro-optical reconnaissance pod. 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 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.
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 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 17 September 2007 Saudi Arabia announced it had signed a £4.4bn deal with BAE Systems for 72 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, 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. The deal also included simulators, ground and training equipment and spares. 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.
Divisions
The RSAF units are divided into nine Wings that are dispersed across seven Air Bases:- RSAF Wing 1 at King Khalid Air Base, Khamis Mushait
- RSAF Wing 2 at King Fahad Air Base, Taif
- RSAF Wing 3 at King Abdulaziz Air Base, Dhahran
- RSAF Wing 4 at King Khalid Military City, Hafar Al-Batin
- 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 King 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
- 24 Squadron
- 25 Squadron
- 29 Squadron
- 30 Squadron
- 32 Squadron
- 33 Squadron
- 34 Squadron
- 35 Squadron
- 37 Squadron
- 42 Squadron
- 44 Squadron
- 55 Squadron
- 66 Squadron
- 75 Squadron
- 79 Squadron
- 80 Squadron
- 83 Squadron
- 88 Squadron
- 92 Squadron
- 99 Squadron
Current inventory
Retired
Previous aircraft flown by the Royal Saudi Air Force included the Caproni Ca.100, Albatros D.III, Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8, Farman MF.11 Airco DH.9, dH 82 Tiger Moth, Westland Wapiti, Avro Anson, Douglas C-47, B-26 Invader, F-86F Sabre, dH 100 Vampire FB.52, Hawker Hunter F.60, BAC Lightning, BAC Strikemaster Mk 80, DHC-1 Chipmunk Mk 10, C-54A Skymaster, C-123B Provider, T-6A Texan, T-33A Shooting Star, Cessna 310, O-1 Bird Dog, T-35A Buckaroo, T-34A Mentor, OH-58A Kiowa, T-28A Trojan, F-5 Tiger II, Lockheed JetStar, dH Comet 4C, BAe 146, Alouette III.Commanders
The following officers have been commanders of the RSAF:- Captain Abdullah al-Mandili
- Major Rashid al-Saleh
- Major Gen. Ibrahim al-Tassan
- Major Gen. Hashim bin Said Hashim
- Lt. Gen. Asaad al-Zuhair
- Lt. Gen. Mohammed Sabri Suleiman
- Lt. Gen. Abdullah bin AbdulAziz al-Hamdan
- Lt. Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim Behery
- Lt. Gen. Abdul Aziz bin Mohammad Al-Henadi
- Lt. Gen. Prince Abdulrahman Al-Faisal
- Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Ayesh
- Lt. Gen. Fayyadh Al Ruwaili
- Lt. Gen. Muhammad Al Shaalan
- Major Gen. Mohammed al-Otaibi
- Lt. Gen. Prince Turki bin Bandar