Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian Armed Forces | |
---|---|
القُوَّات السُّعُودِيَّة المُسَلَّحَة | |
Founded | 1744[1] |
Current form | 1902 |
Service branches |
|
Headquarters | Air Chief Marshal Fayyadh Al Ruwaili |
Personnel | |
Military age | 17[2] |
Conscription | No[3] |
Active personnel | 257,000[4] |
Deployed personnel | |
Expenditures | |
Budget | US$75 billion (2023) |
Foreign suppliers | Brazil Canada China Czech Republic France Germany Italy Japan South Korea Netherlands Russia Singapore South Africa Sweden Taiwan Turkey United Kingdom United States |
Related articles | |
History |
|
Ranks | KSA military ranks |
The Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF) (
The Royal Saudi Armed Forces are one of the best-funded in the world,
History
The first steps towards building an institutionalised armed force for Saudi Arabia began in the 1940s, when Saudi regulars numbered perhaps 1,000–1,500, Gaub saying that officers mostly came from the Ottoman troops who had served the
In 1987, members of the air force, army, and navy used to be mainly recruits from groups of people without a strong identity from the
King Abdullah increasingly moved towards comprehensive military reform following what he considered a failed response by Saudi forces to Houthi incursions in 2009.[22]
In the early 2010s, after almost 20 years of relatively modest increases in military spending, the Saudi government embarked an unprecedented expansion of the Kingdom's armed forces.[23][24] This shift in policy was spear-headed primarily by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who took over as Defense Minister in 2015.[25] It is believed the continued high level expansion of the Saudi Armed Forces was a response to not only short term threats (including incursions by Yemeni rebels and the rise of ISIS) but long term regional strategic concerns, namely the increasing strength of Iran and the uncertain future of America's role in the region.[26]
In 2019, the government of Saudi Arabia stated that women can start working in the military. In the past they could only work in police.[27]
Military services
The armed forces are mainly the responsibility of the
Defense spending
Spending on defense and security has increased significantly since the mid-1990s and was about US$67 billion in 2013. Saudi Arabia ranks among the top five nations in the world in government spending for its military, representing about 9% of GDP in 2013. Its modern, high-technology arsenal makes Saudi Arabia among the world's most densely armed nations, with its military equipment being supplied primarily by the United States, France, and Britain.
The United States sold more than $80 billion in military hardware between 1951 and 2006 to the Saudi military.
The United Kingdom has also been a major supplier of military equipment to Saudi Arabia since 1965.[35]
Canada recently won a contract worth at least US$10 billion to supply the Saudi Arabian army with armored military vehicles.[36]
Service branches
Army
The
The army's main equipment consists of a combination of French- and U.S.-made armored vehicles: 315 M–1A2 Abrams, 290
In 1996 Saudi Arabia had military cities in the northeast, the King Khalid Military City, at Tabuk, at Dharhran, and at Abha in the southwest. There was a 1996 report that construction of a military city at Jizan, orientated toward Yemen, had begun with Defense Minister Prince Sultan pouring the first concrete on 8 May 1996.[37]
The
The navy is divided into two fleets: the Western Fleet has bases in
The navy's inventory includes 11 principal
Air Force
The air force is organized in seven fighter/ground-attack squadrons, six fighter squadrons, and seven training squadrons. Saudi Arabia has at least 15 active military airfields.[28]
As of 2011, Saudi Arabia has around 300 combat aircraft. The kingdom's combat aircraft are newly acquired Typhoons and upgraded Tornado IDS, F-15 Eagle and F-15E Strike Eagle fighter planes. Saudi Arabia has a further 80+ F-15 Eagles on order and an option to buy another 72 Typhoons.
Air Defense
Air Defense was part of the Army until 1981 when it was made a separate service. It operates "Peace Shield" a state-of-the-art radar and air defense system consisting of a Command Operations Center at
The system equipment comprises 17 General Electric
Strategic Missile Force
The Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Forces (RSSMF) is equipped with the Chinese DF-3A (CSS-2) Dongfeng missile sold to Saudi Arabia by China. A conventional high-explosive warhead (2150 kg) variant of the DongFeng 3A Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile was developed for an export order to Saudi Arabia in 1987. About 30+ missiles and 9~12 launchers were reportedly delivered in 1988, though no known test launch has ever been made in the country.[40][41] IISS Military Balance 2022 estimates that the SMF has 2,500 personnel. Probably it is separate branch officially called Strategic Missile Forces (guessing by its website URL http://www.smf.gov.sa/ Archived 15 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine).
It certainly has one advanced
Armed Forces Medical Service
Armed Forces Medical Service of Saudi Arabia provides medical services to all members of the Armed Forces. It is led by a Director General and is responsible for 24 military hospitals across Saudi Arabia.[43]
The service operates aero lift operations with its own fleet of aircraft:
- Lockheed Martin VC-130H flying hospital
- Bell 212 helicopter
- Aerospatile Dolphin 365N helicopter
- Sikorsky UH60 Desert Hawk helicopter
- Learjet
- Gulfstream G3
- Gulfstream G4
- Gulfstream G5
Major military operations
Grand Mosque seizure
In 1979, Islamic extremists took control of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The extremists were led by Juhayman Al Otaiba and held many worshippers hostage for weeks.
With the help of Pakistani and Western troops, the Saudi military captured the terrorists inside the Grand Mosque.[44]
Gulf War
When
Operation Southern Watch
Since the Gulf War, the United States stationed 5,000 troops in Saudi Arabia, a figure that rose to 10,000 during the 2003 conflict in Iraq.[46] Operation Southern Watch enforced the
This was one of the stated motivations behind the September 11 attacks,[46] as well as the Khobar Towers bombing.[47] Bin Laden interpreted the Islamic prophet, Muhammad as banning the "permanent presence of infidels in Arabia".[48]
Shia insurgency in Yemen
On 5 November 2009, the
Ranks
Military industry
The vast majority of Saudi Arabia's military equipment is imported from the Western world.[28] The United States sold more than $80 billion in military hardware between 1951 and 2006 to the Saudi military.[50] 2013 saw Saudi military spending climb to $67bn, overtaking that of the UK, France and Japan to place fourth globally.[51] The United Kingdom has also been a major supplier of military equipment to Saudi Arabia since 1965.[52] Since 1985, the UK has supplied military aircraft—notably the Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft—and other equipment as part of the long-term Al-Yamamah arms deal estimated to have been worth £43 billion by 2006 and thought to be worth a further £40 billion.[53] In 2012, British defence giant BAE signed a £1.9bn ($3bn) deal to supply Hawk trainer jets to Saudi Arabia.[54]
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2010–14 Saudi Arabia became the world's second-largest arms importer, receiving four times more major arms than in 2005–2009. Major imports in 2010–14 included 45 combat aircraft from the UK, 38 combat helicopters from the U.S., four tanker aircraft from Spain, and over 600 armoured vehicles from Canada. Saudi Arabia received 41% of UK arms exports in 2010–14.[55] France authorized $18 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in 2015 alone.[56] The $15 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia is believed to be the largest arms sale in Canadian history.[57] In 2016, the European Parliament decided to temporarily impose an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia, as a result of the Yemen civilian population's suffering from the conflict with Saudi Arabia.[58] In 2017, Saudi Arabia signed a 110 billion dollar arms deal with the United States. Saudi Arabia is Britain's largest arms customer, with more than £4.6 billion worth of arms bought since the start of Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. According to a report from the Global Affairs Canada, a record-breaking amount of military hardware was sold to Saudi Arabia in 2019, despite its poor human rights record.[59]
Following the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a nonbinding resolution was passed in the European Parliament on 25 October 2018, urging EU countries to impose an EU-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia.[60] Germany became the first Western government to suspend future arms deal with the kingdom after Angela Merkel stated that "arms exports can't take place in the current circumstances."[61]
The
See also
- Saudi Arabian Military Forces
- Saudi Arabian National Guard
- Saudi Royal Guard Regiment
- Nuclear program of Saudi Arabia
- King Khalid Military City
References
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Sources
- China, Russia, Saudi Arabia Boosted Defense Most as U.S. Cut http://bloom.bg/1OqdP38
- https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/76487
Further reading
- "Foreign Military Sales, Foreign Military Construction Sales and Military Assistance Facts as of September 2003," Published by Deputy for Operations and Administration, Business Operations/Comptroller, DSCA, Department of Defense
- "'Chief dismissed in reshuffle,' – Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Mohammed Saleh Al-Hammad replaced by Saleh Ibn Ali Al-Mohaya," Jane's Defence Weekly, 9 October 1996, p. 23
- C. A. Woodson, "Saudi Arabian Force Structure Development in a Post Gulf War World", Foreign Military Studies Office, June 1998, https://web.archive.org/web/20120306115652/http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/