CIAO DATE: 07/02

Saudi Military Forces Enter the 21st Century: IX. The Saudi Air Force

IX. The Saudi Air Force

Modernizing and expanding the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has been given a higher priority than that of the army, navy, and air defense force. This reflects the fact that the RSAF is the only service that can cover Saudi Arabia's 2.3 million square kilometers of territory. It represents the investment most capable of cross-reinforcement with the other services. It also has had the most impact in terms of regional prestige, and the most credibility in terms of being able to support other GCC states or to operate with USCENTCOM forces in a major crisis, although its quality and real-world strength has declined significantly since the mid-1990s. ₁

The Saudi Air Force is headquartered at Riyadh. Like the Army and Navy, it has a modern headquarters staff with five major branches — G1 Personnel, G2 Intelligence and Security, GS Operations and Training, G4 Logistics, and G5 Civil and Military Affairs. The RSAF also has a military academy and an extensive system of training schools and support facilities. Its operational command is structured around its Air Command and Operations Center, and base operations. The main Air Command and Operations Center is near Riyadh and there are Sector Operating Centers at Tabuk, Khamis Mushayt, Riyadh, Dhahran, and Al-Kharj, These centers control air defense operations by fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, and air defense artillery. ₂

The RSAF has shifted from a command structure whose chain of command went from Air Force command to air base command to squadron, to a chain of command going from Air Force command to sector command to base command to wing or group command to squadron. This new command structure is designed to give certain sectors more freedom and flexibility at the local command level.

It has operational command facilities at its air bases at Riyadh (King Faisal Air Academy), Dhahran (King Abdul Aziz), Tabuk, Jeddah, and Khamis Mushayt. There are additional major air bases at Al Jawf, Hafr al Batin, and Taif (King Fahd). There are major Air Defense force facilities at Al-Kharj, Dhahran, and Khamis Mushayt. Most of Saudi Arabia's fighters and strike aircraft are based at Dhahran, Taif, and Khamis Mushayt. In the past, the RASAF has limited its deployments at Tabuk to minimize vulnerability to Israeli attacks.

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Endnotes

Note 1: Unless otherwise specified, the military data quoted here are taken from the relevant country sections of various annual editions of the IISS, Military Balance; CIA, The World Factbook; Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, The Middle East Military Balance, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv; on-line editions of Jane's Sentinel series and Periscope, Jane's Intelligence Review, and Jane's Defense Weekly. The cut-off date for such material is January 2002. Other sources include interviews with Saudi officials and military inside and outside of Saudi Arabia, US experts, and British experts. These are not identified by source by request of those interviewed. They also include the author's publications and other sources mentioned at the start of the section on Saudi Arabia, Dr. Andrew Rathmell, "Saudi Arabia's Military Build-up — An Extravagant Error," Jane's Intelligence Review, November, 1994, pp. 500- 504; Andrew Rathmell, The Changing Balance in the Gulf, London, Royal United Services Institute, Whitehall Papers 38, 1996; Edward B. Atkenson, The Powder Keg, Falls Church, NOVA Publications, 1996. they include various editions of USCENTCOM, Atlas, 1, MacDill Air Force Base; Jane's Sentinel: The Gulf States; London, Jane's Publishing; Jane's Air-Launched Weapons); Jane's Aircraft Upgrades; Jane's Avionics ; Jane's All the World's Aircraft ; Jane's World Air Forces; Jane's Land-Based Air Defense, 1997-1998; Jane's Air-Launched Weapon); Jane's Radar and Electronic Warfare Systems; Jane's Military Communications,; Jane's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets.Back