By far the largest country of the Arabian peninsula with its 2.2 million sq km, Saudi Arabia is bordered to the south-east by Oman, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, to the north by Iraq and Kuwait, and to the west by Jordan.
In the early 18th century the Al-Saud, the ruling family of modern Saudi Arabia, were the ruling sheikhs of the oasis village of Dir'aiyah, near modern Riyadh. When they formed an alliance, in the mid-18th century, with Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab, the result was Wahhabism, the back-to-basics religious movement which is still Saudi Arabia's official form of Islam. In 1812 the Ottoman Empire retook western Arabia, and by the end of the 19th century the Al-Saud had retreated to Kuwait. One of the great Al-Saud leaders, known as Ibn Saud, retook Riyadh and then, in 1925, Jeddah. In 1938, commercial quantities of oil were found in Saudi Arabia, and when WWII started oil production really took off. This resulted in growing kingdom's royalties. The Arab oil embargo, in 1973-74, increased the price of oil fourfold and Saudi Arabia became a world power. For Muslims the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina are very important and annual pilgrimages are organized.
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 Ursul Allah" (There is no god but God and Mohammed in his prophet) 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. 
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)
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MAJOR AIR-CRATS
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EF-2000 (100+)
F-15 (98)
Tornado ADV+IDS (250+)
BAE- Hawak (light Attack)
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TRAINER
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PC-9
BAE-HAWAK
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HELICOPTERS
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AH-64
KOV-125
Bell-402
UH-1
UH-60
SA-330 puma
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TRANSPORTER
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KE-3A (+AEWACS)
C-130 (+VIP)
Gulf-stream
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*****
EF-2000
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The series production of the Eurofighter Typhoon is underway, and the aircraft is being procured under three separate contracts (named "tranches"), each for aircraft with generally improved capabilities. The aircraft has entered service with the British Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe, the Italian Air Force, the Spanish Air Force and the Austrian Air Force. Saudi Arabia has signed a £4.43 billion (approx. €6.4 billion c. 2007, $9.5 billion) contract for 72 aircraft.
After unsuccessful campaigns in South Korea and Singapore, on 18 August 2006 it was announced that Saudi Arabia had agreed to purchase 72 Typhoons. In November and December it was reported that Saudi Arabia had threatened to buy French Rafales because of a UK Serious Fraud Office investigation into the Al Yamamah ("the dove") defence deals which commenced in the 1980s.
A Saudi Eurofighter Typhoon at Taif Air baseHowever on 14 December 2006 Britain's attorney general, Lord Peter Goldsmith, ordered that the Serious Fraud Office discontinue its investigation in the BAE Systems' alleged bribery to senior Saudi officials in the al-Yamamah contracts, citing "the need to safeguard national and international security".[54] The Times has raised the possibility that RAF production aircraft will be diverted as early Saudi Arabian aircraft, with the service forced to wait for its full complement of aircraft. This arrangement would mirror the diversion of RAF Tornados to the RSAF. However, The Times has also reported that such an arrangement will make the UK purchase of its tranche 3 commitments more likely.[On 17 September 2007 Saudi Arabia confirmed it had signed a GB£4.43 billion contract for 72 aircraft.aircraft will be at the Tranche 2 build standard, previously destined for the UK RAF, the first being delivered in 2008. The remaining 48 aircraft will be assembled in Saudi Arabia and delivered from 2011.[5Saudi Arabia is considering an order of 24 additional jets in the future, more recent reports suggest that number may be as high as 60 or 72.
On 22 October 2008 an aircraft in the full two-tone grey livery of the Royal Saudi Air Force flew for the first time at BAE Systems’ Warton Aerodrome, marking the start of an initial test flight programme for RSAF aircraft.
Also in October 2008, the United States Department of State gave its approval for the sale that was needed because the Eurofighter contains a significant amount of American technology (ITAR).
Following the official handover event of the first Eurofighter Typhoon to the Royal Saudi Air Force on 11 June 2009, the delivery ferry flight took place, as planned, on 23 June 2009.
The Typhoon features lightweight construction (82% composites consisting of 70% carbon fibre composites and 12% glass reinforced composites) with an estimated lifespan of 6000 flying hours.
The fighter achieves high agility at both supersonic and low speeds by having a relaxed stability design. It has a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire control system providing artificial stability, as manual operation alone could not compensate for the inherent instability. The fly-by-wire system is described as "carefree" by preventing the pilot from exceeding the permitted manoeuvre envelope.
Royal Air Force Typhoon taking off.Roll control is primarily achieved by use of the wing flaperons. Pitch control is by operation of the foreplanes and flaperons, the yaw control is by rudder.[87] Control surfaces are moved through two independent hydraulic systems that are incorporated in the aircraft, which also supply various other items, such as the canopy, brakes and undercarriage. Each hydraulic system is powered by a 4000 psi engine-driven gearbox.
The aircraft employs a sophisticated and highly integrated Defensive Aids Sub-System named Praetorian[89] (formerly called EuroDASS).[90] Threat detection is provided by a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR), a Missile Approach Warning (MAW) and a Laser Warning Receiver (LWR, only for UK Typhoons). Protection is provided by Chaff, Jaff and Flares, Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) and a Towed Radar Decoy (TRD).
The aircraft also features an advanced Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) based on the TERPROM Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN) system used by Tornado but further enhanced and fully integrated into the cockpit displays and controls.
The Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) provides the Link 16 data link.
The Eurofighter Typhoon features a "glass cockpit" without any conventional instruments. It includes: three full colour Multi-function Head Down Displays (MHDDs) (the formats on which are manipulated by means of softkeys, XY cursor and voice (DVI) command), a wide angle Head Up Display (HUD) with Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR), Voice & Hands On Throttle And Stick (Voice+HOTAS), Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS) (known to test pilots as 'The Electric Hat'), Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS), a Manual Data Entry Facility (MDEF) located on the left glareshield and a fully integrated aircraft warning system with a Dedicated Warnings Panel (DWP). Reversionary flying instruments, lit by LEDs, are located under a hinged right glareshield.
The pilot flies the aircraft by means of a centre stick and left hand throttles. Emergency escape is provided by a Martin-Baker Mk.16A ejection seat, with the canopy being jettisoned by two rocket motors.
The absence of such a capability is believed to have been a factor in the type's rejection from Singapore's fighter competition in 2005. At the time it was claimed that Singapore was concerned about the delivery timescale and the ability of the Eurofighter partner nations to fund the current capability packages. With the planned Phase 2 Enhancements Eurofighter GmbH hopes to increase the appeal of Typhoon to possible export customers and to make the aircraft more useful to partner air forces.
F-15 Strike Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories. Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas' design in 1967 to meet the service's need for a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle first flew in July 1972, and entered service in 1976. The F-15 is expected to be in service with the U.S. Air Force until 2025.
Since the 1970s, the Eagle has also been exported to Israel, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Despite originally being envisaged as a pure air superiority aircraft, the design proved flexible enough that an all-weather strike derivative, the F-15E Strike Eagle, was later developed, and entered service in 1989.
Royal Saudi Air Force has operated 4 squadrons of F-15C/D (55/19) since 1981, received under Peace Sun. They are based at Dhahran, Khamis Mushayt and Taif air bases. A stipulation in the Camp David Peace Agreement limited the number of Saudi F-15 to 60, holding surplus air frames in Luke AFB for RSAF pilot training. This limitation was later abandoned. The RSAF had 139 F-15C/S and 22 F-15D Eagles in operation as of November 2008
The F-15 has an all-metal semi-monocoque fuselage with a large cantilever shoulder-mounted wing. The empennage is metal and composite construction, with twin aluminum/composite honeycomb fins with boron-composite skins, resulting in an exceptionally thin tailplane and rudders with all-moving composite horizontal tail surfaces outboard of the fins. The F-15 has a spine-mounted air brake and retractable tricycle landing gear. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney F100 axial-flow turbofan engines with afterburners mounted side-by-side in the fuselage. The cockpit is mounted high in the forward fuselage with a one-piece windscreen and large canopy to increase visibility.
The F-15E Strike Eagle is a two-seat, dual-role, totally integrated fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and deep interdiction missions. The rear cockpit is upgraded to include four multi-purpose CRT displays for aircraft systems and weapons management. The digital, triple-redundant Lear Siegler flight control system permits coupled automatic terrain following, enhanced by a ring-laser gyro inertial navigation system.[33] For low-altitude, high-speed penetration and precision attack on tactical targets at night or in adverse weather, the F-15E carries a high-resolution APG-70 radar and LANTIRN pods to provide thermal imagery
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.05 m)
Height: 18 ft 6 in (5.63 m)
Wing area: 608 ft² (56.5 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 64A006.6 root, NACA 64A203 tip
Empty weight: 28,000 lb (12,700 kg)
Loaded weight: 44,500 lb (20,200 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 68,000 lb (30,845 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney F100-100, -220 or -229 afterburning turbofans
Dry thrust: 17,450 lbf (77.62 kN) each
Thrust with afterburner: 25,000 lbf for -220; 29,000 lbf for -229 (111.2 kN for -220; 129.0 kN for -229) each
Maximum speed:
High altitude: Mach 2.5+ (1,650+ mph, 2,660+ km/h)
Low altitude: Mach 1.2 (900 mph, 1,450 km/h)
Combat radius: 1,061 nmi (1,222 mi, 1,967 km) for interdiction mission
Ferry range: 3,450 mi (3,000 nmi, 5,550 km) with conformal fuel tanks and three external fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)
Rate of climb: >50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
Wing loading: 73.1 lb/ft² (358 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 1.12 (-220), 1.30 (-229)
Hardpoints: four wing, four fuselage, two wing stations, centerline station, optional fuselage pylons with a capacity of 16,000 lb (7,300 kg)
Missiles:
AIM-7 Sparrow
AIM-120 AMRAAM
AIM-9 Sidewinders
Avionics
Radar:
Raytheon AN/APG-63 or AN/APG-70 or
Although several F-15C aircraft were produced with APG-70 radar, all have been retrofitted to the AN/APG-63(V)1 configuration
Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)1 or
Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)2 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) or
Raytheon AN/APG-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)
Both active AF and ANG F-15Cs will receive another (up to) 48 V3 units between 2009-2015, over the existing 19 aircraft.[94]
Countermeasures:
AN/APX-76 or AN/APX-119 Identify Friend/Foe (IFF) interrogator
Magnavox AN/ALQ-128 Electronic Warfare Warning Set (EWWS) -part of Tactical Electronic Warfare Systems (TEWS)
Loral AN/ALR-56 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)-part of Tactical Electronic Warfare Systems (TEWS)
Northrop ALQ-135 Internal Countermeasures System (ICS) - part of Tactical Electronic Warfare Systems (TEWS)
AN/ALE-45 chaff/flare dispensers
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Panavia Tornado IDS/ADV
Developed and built by Panavia, a tri-national consortium consisting of British Aerospace (previously British Aircraft Corporation), MBB of West Germany, and Alenia Aeronautica of Italy, the Tornado first flew on 14 August, 1974, and saw action with the RAF, AMI (Italian Air Force) and Royal Saudi Air Force in the Gulf War. International co-operation continued after its entry into service within the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment, a tri-nation training and evaluation unit operating from RAF Cottesmore, England. Including all variants, 992 aircraft were built for the three partner nations and Saudi Arabia.
On 25 September 1985, UK and Saudi Arabia signed the Al Yamamah I contract including, amongst other things, the sale of 48 IDS and 24 ADV model Tornados.[26] The first flight of a RSAF Tornado IDS was on 26 March 1986, and the first Saudi ADV was delivered on 9 February 1989. Saudi Tornados undertook operations during the Gulf War. In June 1993 the Al Yamamah II contract was signed, the main element of which was 48 additional IDSs.
In September 2006 the Saudi government signed a contract worth £2.5 billion ($4.7 billion) with BAE Systems to upgrade possibly 80 aircraft in the Saudi Air Force fleet which it wants to keep until 2020. RSAF Tornado 6612 returned to BAE Systems Warton in December 2006 for upgrade under the "Tornado Sustainment Programme" (TSP), which will "equip the IDS fleet with a range of new precision-guided weapons and enhanced targeting equipment, in many cases common with those systems already fielded by the UK Royal Air Force's Tornado GR4s."[28] In December 2007 the aircraft, "believed to be the first RSAF aircraft to complete modernisation", was returned to Saudi Arabia.
Starting from the first week of November 2009, Saudi Air Force Tornados, along with Saudi F-15s performed air raids over Yemeni Houthis rebels in Yemeni Norther region of Sa'dah. It was the first time since Operation Desert Storm in 1991 that Saudi Air Force took active party in a military operation over hostile territory
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) is an interceptor version of the Panavia Tornado in service with the British Royal Air Force. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979 and entered service in 1986. It is a long-range, twin-engine aircraft, originally designed to intercept Soviet bombers as they came in from the east to strike the United Kingdom. The Tornado ADV for the Royal Saudi Air Force were produced to F3 standard. Both the RAF and RSAF are replacing the Tornado ADV with the Eurofighter Typhoon. Tornado F3s will be retired from RAF service in 2011
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 16.72 m (54 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 13.91 m at 25° wing sweep, 8.60 m at 67° wing sweep (45.6 ft / 28.2 ft)
Height: 5.95 m (19.5 ft)
Wing area: 26.6 m² (286 ft²)
Empty weight: 13,890 kg (31,620 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 28,000 kg (61,700 lb)
Powerplant: 2× Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning turbofans
Dry thrust: 43.8 kN (9,850 lbf) each
Thrust with afterburner: 76.8 kN (17,270 lbf) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 800kts IAS Mach 2.34 (2,417.6 km/h, 1,511 mph)
Range: 1,390 km (870 mi) typical combat
Ferry range: 3,890 km (2,417 mi) with four external drop tanks
Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 76.7 m/s (15,100 ft/min)
Thrust/weight: 0.55
Armament
Guns: 2× 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon with 180 rounds per gun (versus 1× BK-27 mounted on Panavia Tornado ADV)
Hardpoints: 4× light duty + 3× heavy duty under-fuselage and 4× swivelling under-wing pylon stations holding up to 9000 kg (19,800 lb) of payload, the two inner wing pylons have shoulder launch rails for 2× Short-Range AAM (SRAAM) each
Rockets: None
Missiles:
Air-to-air missiles:
AIM-9 Sidewinder or IRIS-T or AIM-132 ASRAAM for self-defence
Air-to-surface missiles:
6× AGM-65 Maverick; or
12× Brimstone missile (12 being the maximum operational limit carried by RAF's Tornado GR4); or
4× Storm Shadow or Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile
Anti-ship missiles:
2× AS.34 Kormoran; or
2× BAe Sea Eagle; or
Anti-radiation missiles:
4× AGM-88 HARM; or
9× ALARM missile
Hunting Engineering BL755 cluster bombs; or
HOPE/HOSBO GPS/electro-optically guided glide bombs; or
Joint Direct Attack Munition; or
Paveway series of Laser-guided bomb (LGB); or
Up to 2× JP233 or MW-1 munitions dispensers (for runway cratering operations)
Up to 4× B61 or WE.177 tactical nuclear weapons
Others:
Up to 2× drop tanks for ferry flight/extended range/loitering time
Avionics
RAPTOR aerial reconnaissance pod
RAFAEL LITENING targeting pod; or
TIALD laser designator pod
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