Royal Saudi Air Defense

The Saudi Arabian Air Defense Forces (Arabic: الدِفَّاع الجوّي المَلكِيَّ السُّعُودِيَّ‎) or officially Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (RSADF) is the aerial defense service branch of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces. It is fourth of the five service branches of the MOD.[1][4] It has its HQ in Riyadh,[lower-alpha 2] where there is also an elaborate underground command facility that co-ordinates Arabian Kingdom's advanced "Peace Shield" radar and air defense system, with an estimated 40,000 active duty military personnel in 2015.[3][2] Along with the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), it has responsibility for securing the skies of Saudi Arabia.[5]

Royal Saudi Air Defense
الدِفَّاع الجوّي المَلكِيَّ السُّعُودِيَّ
Emblem of the R.S. Air Defense Forces
Founded1930 (1930)[lower-alpha 1]
Country Saudi Arabia
AllegianceCTHM
BranchDefense
TypeAir defense
RoleAerial warfare
Size40,000 (2015 est.)[2][3]
Part ofRoyal Armed Forces
HeadquartersRiyadh (central HQ)[4]
Colors                          
EngagementsGulf War l
Gulf War ll
Decisive Storm
Websitewww.rsadf.gov.sa
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt. General Mazyad al-Amro
Insignia
Flag

Overview

Towards the end of the 1970s, a paradigm shift occurred with the SAAF with the making of the RSAD Corps as a separate and equivalent service, equal to the Army, Navy, and Air Forces. It is no longer subordinate to the RSLF. The impetus behind this shift is the ever-changing threat. The concern by the Kingdom of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their mechanism of delivery, resulted in the early understanding by the MoD of the requirement to transform, and thus the creation of the RSADF.[6]

Peace Shield

Source:[7]

Past Inventory
Weapon Origin 1990 2000 2005 2006
RSAD Inventory[8]
Anti-Aircraft Artillery
M163 VADS United States 92 92 92 92
AMX-30SA France 50 50 50 850
Oerlikon GDF Switzerland 128 128 128 128
Bofors 40mm L/70 Sweden 150 150 150 70
Surface-to-Air Missiles
Shahine France 141 141 141 1,156
I-HAWK United States 128 128 128 2,048
Crotale France 0 40 40 40
FIM-92A Stinger/Avenger United States 0 0 400 400
FIM-43 Redeye United States 0 0 500 500
Mistral France 0 0 500 500
PAC-2 Patriot United States 0 0 0 640

See also

Notes
  1. 1930–1955 (as a part of the Artillery Arm of the Saudi Army)[1]    1956–1963 (as a part of the formation of the Artillery Corps)
       1963–1983 (an independent corps of the R.S. Land Forces)       1984– present (fourth armed service branches of the MOD).
  2. Air Defense Ministry Building designed by Arthur Erickson Architects with Bing Thom

References
  1. "Royal Saudi Land Forces History". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  2. Anthony Cordesman (2009). Saudi Arabia: National Security in a Troubled Region. Center for Strategic and International Studies. p. 387.
  3. "Saudi Arabia spends 25% of its budget on its military — here's what it has for the money". www.uk.businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. Al Saud, K. Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces, al-Moqatel (in Arabic) online.
  5. "Royal Saudi Air Defence Force - Responsibilities".
  6. "Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  7. Janes-Military-Communications, 5 July 2005, Peace Shield (Saudi Arabia), Systems Archived 28 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012-01-23
  8. Cordesman, A. H., Al-Rodhan, K. R. (2006). Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars. United Kingdom: Praeger Security International. P. 208

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