Military of Saudi Arabia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

armed forces are mainly the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. The Ministry also has responsibility for the construction of civilian airports as well as military bases, and for Meteorology

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

departments. However, the Saudi Arabian National Guard

Saudi Arabian National Guard

The Saudi Arabian National Guard is a separate military force of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is not part of the Saudi Arabian Defence Forces, due to its specific role as a counterbalance to the regular military. It serves both as defence force against external threats and as a security force...

is independent of the Ministry, and is commanded by King Abdullah's

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005...

son, Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah

Mutaib bin Abdullah

*Seba*Nouf*Abdullah*Zeina*Saad*KhalidPrince Mutaib bin Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud is the Commander of the Saudi National Guard since 2010. He is also a state minister. He is a son of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia....

.

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz had held the portfolio of Saudi Arabia's Minister of Defence and Aviation since 1962 to 2011. The Vice Minister, Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz

Abd al-Rahman bin Abdul Aziz

Abdul-Rahman bin Abdul-Aziz is a senior member of the Saudi royal family and , was Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Defense & Aviation 1978 - 2011. He is a part of the Sudairi Seven....

, is his full brother. His oldest son, Khalid bin Sultan

Khalid bin Sultan

Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud is the Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation of Saudi Arabia. He led Saudi troops in the First Persian Gulf War and also controversially led the botched Yemen bombing in late 2009...

, was appointed Assistant Minister of Defence for Military Affairs in 2001.

Overview

The Saudi military consists of the Saudi Army

Saudi Arabian Army

The Saudi Arabian Army , also called Royal Saudi Land Force . Is a branch of the Saudi Armed Forces. The total number of active troops is estimated to be 233,500The current Chief of the Saudi General Staff is Field Marshal Saleh Al-Muhaya....

, the Royal Saudi Air Force

Royal Saudi Air Force

The Royal Saudi Air Force , is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabian armed forces. The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive capability...

, the Royal Saudi Navy

Royal Saudi Navy

The Royal Saudi Navy is the Naval force of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Royal Saudi Navy is sometimes referred to as the RSNF . The Navy has about 15,000 officers and men, including 3,000 Marines. The Naval headquarters is in Riyadh. The Western Fleet is based in the Red Sea with the main base...

, the Royal Saudi Air Defense

Royal Saudi Air Defense

Royal Saudi Air Defence is the fourth branch of Saudi Armed Forces. It was a part of the Army until 1981, when it was made independent by Field Marshal Khalid bin Sultan...

, the Saudi Arabian National Guard - the 'SANG'

Saudi Arabian National Guard

, and paramilitary forces, totaling over 200,000 active-duty personnel. In 2005 the armed forces had the following personnel: the army

Saudi Arabian Army

, 75,000; Royal Saudi Air Force

Royal Saudi Air Force

The Royal Saudi Air Force , is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabian armed forces. The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive capability...

, 18,000; air defense

Royal Saudi Air Defense

Royal Saudi Air Defence is the fourth branch of Saudi Armed Forces. It was a part of the Army until 1981, when it was made independent by Field Marshal Khalid bin Sultan...

, 16,000; Royal Saudi Navy

Royal Saudi Navy

, 15,500 (including 3,000 marines); and the SANG

Saudi Arabian National Guard

had 75,000 active soldiers and 25,000 tribal levies. In addition, there is a military intelligence service

Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah

The Ri'āsat Al-Istikhbārāt Al-'Āmah , or the General Intelligence Presidency , is the primary intelligence agency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.- History :...

.

The SANG

Saudi Arabian National Guard

is not a reserve but a fully operational front-line force, and originated out of Abdul Aziz’s

Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia

King Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia was the first monarch of the Third Saudi State known as Saudi Arabia. He was commonly referred to as Ibn Saud....

tribal military-religious force, the Ikhwan

Ikhwan

The Ikhwan was the Islamic religious militia which formed the main military force of the Arabian ruler Ibn Saud and played a key role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula, in his new state of Saudi Arabia. The Ikhwan were made up of Bedouin tribes...

. Its modern existence, however, is attributable to it being effectively Abdullah’s

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

private army since the 1960s and, unlike the rest of the armed forces, is independent of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. The SANG

Saudi Arabian National Guard

has been a counter-balance to the Sudairi faction in the royal family: Prince Sultan, the Minister of Defense and Aviation, is one of the so-called ‘Sudairi Seven

Sudairi Seven

The Sudairi Seven, also spelled Sudairy or Sudayri, is the commonly used name for a powerful alliance of seven full brothers and their descendants within the royal family of Saudi Arabia. They are also known as the Al Fahd . They are sometimes referred to as the Sudairi Clan or the Sudairi faction...

’ and controls the remainder of the armed forces.

Army

The army is composed of three armored brigades, five mechanized brigades, one airborne brigade, one Royal Guard brigade, and eight artillery battalions. The army also has one aviation command with two aviation brigades.

The army’s main equipment consists of a combination of French- and U.S.-made armored vehicles: 315 M–1A2 Abrams, 290 AMX–30, and 450 M60A3 main battle tanks; 300 reconnaissance vehicles; 570+ AMX–10P and 400 M–2 Bradley armored infantry fighting vehicles; 3,000+ M113 and 100 Al-Fahd armored personnel carriers, produced in Saudi Arabia; 200+ towed artillery pieces; 110 self-propelled artillery pieces; 60 multiple rocket launchers; 400 mortars; 10 surface-to-surface missiles; about 2,000 antitank guided weapons; about 200 rocket launchers; 450 recoilless launchers; 12 attack helicopters; 50+ transport helicopters; and 1,000 surface-to-air missiles. In 2011, the Saudi-Arabian army has furthermore ordered 200+ German Leopard 2A7+ main battle tanks to extend their fleet.

Airforce

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.

As of 2011, Saudi Arabia has around 300 combat aircraft. The kingdom's combat aircraft are newly acquired Eurofighter Typhoons

Eurofighter Typhoon

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...

and upgraded Tornado IDS

Panavia Tornado

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...

, 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 Eurofighter 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 Riyadh

Riyadh

Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...

, and main operating bases at Dhahran

Dhahran

Dhahran is a city located in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935 Standard Oil of California drilled the first commercially viable oil well...

, Taif, Tabuk, Khamis Mushait

Khamis Mushait

Khamis Mushait is a city in south-west Saudi Arabia, located 35 minutes east of Abha, the provincial seat of the Asir province. It is the capital of the Shahran Tribe. Until the 1970s Khamis Mushait was a small town of less than 50,000 servicing the surrounding mild-climate agricultural region...

and Al Kharj

Al Kharj

Al-Kharj is a city and governorate in central Saudi Arabia. The population of the governorate as a whole was 623,394 according to the 2004 census, 75,716 of whom were non-Saudis. The city is located at around ....

. The total system includes 164 sites.

The system equipment comprises 17 General Electric AN/ FPS-117 long-range 3-D radars, 6 Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-43 tactical radars, and Raytheon Improved HAWK air defence missile system

Navy

The navy is divided into two fleets: the Western Fleet has bases in Jeddah

Jeddah

Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...

, Jizan

Jizan

-Ethnography:The inhabitants of Jazan, are made up of Arabs. Islam is the religion of almost the totality of the inhabitants of the city and the province.-External links:*http://www.jazan.gov.sa* *http://krwetatnt.com/vb/...

, and Al Wajh

Al Wajh

Al Wajh is a coastal town in northwestern Saudi Arabia, on the coast of the Red Sea. It is located in Tabuk Province.Al Wajh is a comparatively small town whose citizens are mainly of Al Belawi, Al Huety, Al johani and Al Harby tribes and work on fishing. It has close links with the city of Tabuk...

; the Eastern Fleet has bases in Al Jubayl, Ad Dammam, Ras al Mishab

Ras Al-Mishab Airport

Ras Al-Mishab Airport is a small military airfield in the naval complex of Ras Al-Mishab on the Persian Gulf about 200 km north of Dammam in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It occupies an area of around 2.8 km² and is one kilometer away from the shore.The naval facility was used...

, and Ras al Ghar. The marines are organized into one infantry regiment with two battalions.

The navy’s inventory includes 11 principal surface combatants, 65 patrol and coastal combatants, 7 mine warfare vessels, 8 amphibious craft, and 7 support and miscellaneous craft. Naval aviation forces have 19 helicopters (armed) serving in naval support.

SANG

The Saudi Arabian National Guard is independent of the Ministry of Defense & Aviation and is organized into three mechanized infantry brigades, five infantry brigades, and one ceremonial cavalry squadron.

The SANG

Saudi Arabian National Guard

is equipped with 100 Saudi manufactured Al-Fahd infantry fighting vehicles. It will be strengthened by the purchase of US$1 billion worth of new armored vehicles from the United States.

Defense spending

Spending on defense and security has increased significantly since the mid-‘90s and was about US$25.4 billion in 2005. Saudi Arabia ranks among the top 10 in the world in government spending for its military, representing about 7 percent of gross domestic product in 2005. 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 US, France and Britain.

The United States sold more than $80 billion in military hardware between 1951-2006 to the Saudi military. In comparison, the Israel Defense Forces

Israel Defense Forces

The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

received $53.6 billion in US military grants between 1949-2007. On October 20, 2010, U.S. State Department notified Congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in American history - an estimated $60.5 billion purchase by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The package represents a considerable improvement in the offensive capability of the Saudi armed forces. The U.S. was keen to point out that the arms transfer would increase "interoperability" with U.S. forces. In the 1990-1991 Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

, having U.S.-trained Saudi forces, along with military installations built to U.S. specifications, allowed the American armed forces to deploy in a comfortable and familiar battle environment. This new deal would increase these capabilities, as an advanced American military infrastructure is about to be built. The US government is also in talks with Saudi Arabia about the potential sale of advanced naval and missile-defense upgrades worth up to tens of billions of dollars.

The UK has also been a major supplier of military equipment to Saudi Arabia since 1965. Since 1985, the UK has supplied military aircraft - notably the Tornado

Panavia Tornado

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...

and Eurofighter Typhoon

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 £40billion.

Gulf War

When Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

invaded Saudi Arabia's northern neighbor Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

in 1990, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

immediately requested the deployment of US troops within the country to deter further aggression. Saudi forces participated in the subsequent Operation Desert Storm

Gulf War

: Saudi pilots flew more than 7,000 sorties and Saudi troops took part in the battles around the Saudi town of Raʾs al-Khafji

Battle of Khafji

The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War. It took place in and around the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji, from 29 January to 1 February 1991 and marked the culmination of the Coalition's air campaign over Kuwait and Iraq, which had begun on 17 January 1991.Iraqi...

Operation Southern Watch

Since the Gulf war, the US has had a continued presence of 5,000 troops stationed in Saudi Arabia - a figure that rose to 10,000 during the 2003 conflict in Iraq.
Operation Southern Watch enforced the no-fly zones

Iraqi no-fly zones

The Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones...

over southern Iraq set up after 1991, as well, the country's oil exports through the shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

are protected by the US Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

. It was conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of the 32nd Parallel

32nd parallel north

The 32nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 32 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....

(extended to the 33rd Parallel

33rd parallel north

The 33rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 33 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....

in 1996) in Iraq

Iraq

, following the 1991 Gulf War

Gulf War

until the 2003 invasion of Iraq

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

.

This was one of the stated motivations behind the September 11th terrorist attacks, as well as a the Khobar Towers bombing

Khobar Towers bombing

The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, located near the national oil company headquarters of Dhahran. In 1996, Khobar Towers was being used to house foreign military personnel.Al-Qaeda has incorrectly been described by...

. Bin Laden interpreted the Prophet Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

as banning the "permanent presence of infidels in Arabia".
US troops in Saudi Arabia served to provoke skirmishes between Iraq and the US between both Gulf Wars.

Yemen Shia Rebel Offensive

On Nov 5, 2009 the Royal Saudi Land Forces launched a sweeping ground offensive against Yemeni Shiite Hawthi Rebels after they crossed the Saudi border (in order to outflank the Yemeni Army, which had earlier launched a military campaign against the Hawthis to control and pacify the northern Yemeni mountains) and killed 2 Saudi border guards. The Saudi forces relied heavily on air power and artillery to soften the rebels without risking their men. As of Jan 23, 2010 the Saudi Army had lost 113 men in the fighting against the rebels, with most of the casualties occurring when ground forces tried to move into areas that had been softened by shelling.

Military industry

The vast majority of Saudi Arabia's military equipment is imported from European and North American suppliers. However, the Al-Fahd Infantry fighting vehicle

Al-Fahd Infantry fighting vehicle

The Al-Fahd is an armoured fighting vehicle used by the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia. It was the first armoured fighting vehicle developed and built in Saudi Arabia...

and the Al-Faris 8-400 armored personnel carrier

Al-Faris 8-400

The Al-Faris 8-400 Armored Personnel Carrier, produced by the Abdullah Al-Faris Heavy Industries company, is part of the Al-Faris 8-400 family of armoured vehicles...

, used by Saudi land forces, were manufactured by the Abdallah Al Faris Company for Heavy Industries, based in Dammam

Dammam

Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, the most oil-rich region in the world. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province and several government departments are located in the city. Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province and third largest in Saudi...

External links

Ministry of Defense and Aviation, official website
Royal Saudi Land Forces, official website
Saudi Arabian National Guard, official website
Strategic Missiles Force, official website
General Intelligence Presidency, official website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Overview

Army

Airforce

Air Defense

Navy

SANG

Defense spending

Gulf War

Operation Southern Watch

Yemen Shia Rebel Offensive

Military industry

See also

External links