There was a large
United States presence there during
Operations Southern Watch,
Enduring Freedom, and
Iraqi Freedom. The U.S. presence was predominantly that of multiple
United States Air Force (USAF) flying units, augmented by a
United States Navy (USN) or
United States Marine Corps (USMC)
Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler squadron, a
Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter squadron with
Panavia Tornado F.3s and a
French Air Force fighter squadron with
Dassault Mirage 2000s,
Mirage F1 CR plus a
Boeing C-135RF Stratotanker air refueling aircraft. Following the attack on USAF facilities at
Khobar Towers in Dharan in 1996, all USAF activities at that location were relocated to PSAB. During the
War in Afghanistan, the Saudi government refused to allow the United States to use its air bases in Saudi Arabia to launch offensive air operations against the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and
al-Qaeda, but did allow them to use Prince Sultan Air Base to coordinate offensive air operations of air combat operations launched from other countries. In mid-2003, all U.S. operations at PSAB began migrating to
Al Udeid Air Base in
Doha,
Qatar. located at Prince Sultan Air Base in 2020. Between 2003 and 2005,
Vickers VC10s from
No. 101 Squadron RAF were based here in support of
Operation Telic before moving to RAF Al Udeid (a section of the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar). In October 2019, 2,000 U.S. troops joined approximately 700 service members already stationed at the air base, along with deploying
B-1B bombers,
F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, and
Patriot missile batteries. The new troop buildup followed several attacks on oil tankers by
Iran in the
Gulf of Oman. The
378th Air Expeditionary Wing was activated at Prince Sultan on 17 December 2019, with the Air Force stating that the wing's mission is to 'provide strategic depth and increased defensive support while sustaining regional presence to promote peace through deterrence'. On 2 March 2026, during the
2026 Iran war, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defence announced that five hostile drones were intercepted and destroyed near the Prince Sultan base. The incident followed a separate drone strike earlier the same day on Saudi Aramco's
Ras Tanura refinery. According to official statements, the drones were neutralised before reaching their targets, and no casualties were reported. The
Wall Street Journal reported that about a week later, that five
U.S. Air Force refueling planes were damaged at the base during an Iranian missile strike on the base. On 27 March, an Iranian missile and drone strike on the base damaged several US refueling aircraft and injured fifteen US soldiers, including five critically. An
E-3 Sentry was destroyed by the strike. It was also reported that an attack earlier that week injured 14 US soldiers. Despite President Trump's public rejection of Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy's offer to assist in combatting Iranian drone strikes, the US sent Ukrainian counter-drone technology to the base after Iranian strikes caused damage and casualties. ==Current use==