Real Fuerza Aérea Saudí

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 began 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 gifted by Britain to Saudi Arabia. The aircraft were delivered to No. 6 Squadron at Khamis Mushayt Airbase in May 1966. The Hunters were operational, but Saudi Arabia knew that against the Egyptian Air Force the Hunters would not be successful as interceptors as they lacked any warning radar. They were used for ground attack primarily against Yemeni rebel forces. One single-seat aircraft was lost in 1967 and the remaining aircraft were gifted 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.