1935"—a scene from 'Our Eagles', one of four video wall shows made for the
Royal Saudi Air Force Museum. The Royal Saudi Air Force 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 been pardoned by the
King Abdulaziz. Following a contract with the British government, which was concluded in 1937, a
military airstrip at Jeddah was established in 1939. The military airstrip was where the Air Force was stationed. In 1949, a group of aviation students were sent to study in England, after completing training at Al-Houba. By 1950, a second group of students were sent. The Air Force was re-organized in 1950 and began to receive American assistance from 1952 including the use of
King Abdulaziz Air Base by the
United States Air Force. In 1951, the group of aviation students returned to form the Royal Saudi Air Force. On November 5, 1952, the Air Force’s flag was raised at a military hangar in Jeddah Airport, which was attended by
Prince Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense and Aviation at the time. Shortly afterwards, Air Force schools begun opening around the kingdom. Early aircraft used by the RSAF 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, and the
Douglas A-26 Invader. In 1957, the Royal Saudi Air Force begun major developments, including the establishments of 5 Squadrons, all based at Jeddah Airport. The transportation squadron was equipped with Douglas C-54 Skymasters and Fokker S-13s. The No.2 Squadron was equipped with Douglas B-26 Invaders and the No.5 Squadron was equipped with 20
De Havilland Vampires. As part of the
Magic Carpet arms deal between the United Kingdom and 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, the armed forces of Saudi Arabia were relatively small by Middle Eastern standards. 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 Systems Hawk. The C-130 Hercules is the mainstay of the transport fleet and is assisted by
CN-235s and
Beechcraft Super King Air 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 family,
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). From 1989 to 1991 three
Lockheed C-130 Hercules of the RSAF were
destroyed in accidents. 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.
Purchases and other activities in the 21st century 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. The
Eurofighter Typhoon was part of a multinational collaborative program having included a consortium of several companies from Spain, Germany and France, with the latter having left the program and later created the Rafale through Dassault Aviation. 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 (Saudi Advanced) 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 Systems 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. 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. 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. ==Structure==