Boeing E-3A / KE-3A RE Sentry
The Royal Saudi Air Force (Arabic: القوات الجوية الملكية السعودية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Malakhiah as Sa'udiya), is the air force branch of Saudi Arabian armed forces. After the Israeli Air Force (900 aircraft), and the Egyptian Air Force (600 aircraft) the RSAF has the third largest air combat capability in the Middle East. The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive capability. The RSAF maintains the third largest fleet of F-15's after the JASDF and USAF. 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 1990s, including Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles, laser-guided bombs, and gravity bombs. The RSAF announced its intention to purchase the Eurofighter 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 RSAF was formed in the mid-1920s with British assistance. It was re-organized in 1950 and began to receive American assistance from 1952 including the use of Dhahran by the United States Air Force. The Saudi forces are equipped with mainly western hardware. Main suppliers are the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Both the UK and the US are involved in training programs conducted in Saudi Arabia. Derelict RSAF T-28A Trojan, one of four acquired in the 1950s, at King Abdulaziz UniversityFor 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 Tornado's from which a batch of 48 Tornado IDS was ordered in 1993 under the al-Yamamah I
Size: 5620px × 3733px
Location: Overseas Deployment to RAF Lossiemouth Moray Scotland
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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