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The Royal Saudi Air Force is the air force of Saudi Arabia. After the Israeli Air Force, the RSAF has the second largest air combat capability in the Middle East. The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with a highly-advanced strike capability.
The backbone of the RSAF today is the Boeing F-15 Eagle aircraft, 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 (now BAE Systems)
The RSAF ordered various weapons in the 1990's, including, Sea Eagles, Laser Guided Bombs, and Gravity Bombs.
The RSAF ordered the Eurofighter Typhoon from BAE Systems in December 2005. The precise number has not been confirmed but is widely rumoured to be 48 with an option on a further 24. *
History
That religion is very important in Saudi Arabia is also reflected in the Royal Saudi Armed Forces fin flashes which represent the legend "La Illaha Illa Allah wa Muhammad* Rahsool Allah" (There is no God but God and Muhammed* is his messenger) written in Arabic writing that needs to be read from right to left.
Despite the fact that it is very hard to visit Saudi Arabia for Westerners, the Saudi forces are equipped with mainly western hardware. Main suppliers are the United States of America and the United Kingdom. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Saudis asked the USA to send troops to defend the kingdom and there has been a US presence in Saudi Arabia since. Both the UK (With BAE Systems as one of the prime contractors) and the US are involved in training programs conducted in Saudi Arabia.
For Middle Eastern standards the armed forces of Saudi Arabia are relatively small. Its strength however is derived from advanced technology and not from numerical superiority. This is why the armed forces are under a continuing modernization program. The backbone of the fighter force is formed by 134 Tornados from which a batch of 48 Tornado IDS was ordered in 1993 under the al-Yamamah II program and 72 F-15S aircraft delivered from the mid-90s that operate besides the 41 F-15C/D aircraft delivered in the early 90s. Aircraft training is executed on the Pilatus PC-9, BAe Hawk, Boeing F-15D Eagle and the Northrop F-5F Tiger II. Like in many other countries the C-130 is the mainstay of the Transport fleet and the Hercules is assisted by CASA CN-235s. Reconnaissance is performed by 17sq with their RF-5E and the Boeing E-3A is the Airborne Early Warning platform operated by 18sq.
The VIP support fleet of the Al-Saud family consists of a wide variety of civil registered aircraft such as the Boeing B707, B737 and B747, 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 RSAF units are divided into Wings that are dispersed across the seven air bases. They are:
- RSAF Wing 1 at ?
- RSAF Wing 2 at Taif
- RSAF Wing 3 at Dharan
- RSAF Wing 4 at Riyadh
- RSAF Wing 5 at Khamis Mushayt
- RSAF Wing 6 at Al Karj
- RSAF Wing 7 at Tabuk
- RSAF Wing 8 at Jeddah
Units of the RSAF
- Second Squadron (Training)
- Third Squadron (Fighters)
- Fourth Squadron (Airlift)
- Fifth Squadron (Fighters)
- Sixth Squadron
- Twentieth Squadron (Airlift & Air Refueling) (Riyadh)
- Sixty-Second Squadron (Airlift)
Aircraft of RSAF
- Agusta-Bell 412
- Agusta-Bell 212
- Agusta-Sikorsky AS61 Sea King
- BAe Hawk 65
- BAe Jetstream 31
- Boeing F-15C
- Boeing F-15D
- Boeing F-15S: a variant of USAF F-15E Strike Eagle and the backbone of the RSAF, it is informally known as "Desert Eagle"
- Boeing E-3A Sentry
- Boeing KE-3A
- CASA CN-235
- AH-64 Apache
- Eurocopter AS532A2 Cougar
- CH-47 Chinook
- Eurofighter Typhoon - On Order
- Lockheed KC-130H Hercules
- Lockheed C-130E Hercules
- Lockheed C-130H Hercules
- Lockheed VC-130H Hercules
- Northrop RF-5E
- Panavia Tornado IDS
- Panavia Tornado IDS(R)
- Panavia Tornado ADV
- Reims Cessna F172
- Pilatus PC-9
Major Suppliers
Lockheed Martin is also the supplier of the Longbow Fire Control Radar for RSAF Apaches.
Gallery
External links
- http://www.scramble.nl/sa.htm
- Peace Be Upon Him
"Royal Saudi Air Force"