By INSS ——Bio and Archives--August 18, 2010
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a. While the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait preferred investing most of their money in defensive equipment (mainly air defense and anti-ballistic missile defense systems), the Saudi deal is for aerial attack equipment (fighter jets and assault helicopters). b. The F-15S jets mentioned in the reports cannot be considered new or unfamiliar equipment. Saudi Arabia had already purchased F-15S jets in the early 1990s. The F-15S jet is a Saudi-adapted version of the 72 F-15E jet (the Strike Eagle, whose Israeli version is the F-15I Thunder jet). No new version of the Boeing F-15 is currently being produced, although the manufacturer recently revealed its proposal for a substitute for the F-35 with a model known as the Silent Eagle that includes certain stealth features. However this proposal still has not entered any development stage. Therefore, if the current deal is realized, it will include jets that are not very different from those already in the hands of the Royal Saudi Air Force. c. This is also the case regarding helicopters mentioned in the reports. Since the early 1990s, Saudi Arabia deployed 12 AH-64A helicopters; about two years ago, Saudi Arabia requested the sale of 12 AH-64D helicopters. It also requested an upgrade of its old helicopters to a similar standard. Dozens of UH-60 helicopters are also in service, and a number of these have been ordered recently. Therefore the deal apparently involves increasing the number of types of helicopters already at the disposal of the Royal Saudi Air Force. d. The Saudi air force has recently begun to absorb the Typhoon jet. Saudi Arabia purchased 24 of them from Great Britain, with an option to purchase another 48 jets. This is a huge deal valued at $7–9 billion. In order to have the contract signed, Britain's prime minister was forced to order the halting of the corruption investigation concerning this deal and previous arms deals with the British BAe weapons firm.For many years the Saudi air force has been operating parallel arrays of American-made and British-made fighter jets. Typhoon jets will be flying alongside Tornado jets (both the interceptor and the attack models). These old jets will not be retired from service. Rather, the Typhoon deal includes overhauls and upgrades to these jets. If the purchases are realized, it would involve a considerable expansion of the Saudi air force, particularly its fighter jet component. This will oblige the training of manpower on a considerable scale, even if as in the past, the Saudis will rely on a maintenance and training apparatus almost entirely based on foreign workers employed by foreign contractors. It is doubtful whether Saudi Arabia, where military service is not compulsory, will be able to man this expansion.
Date | Weapons system | Estimated scale | Status | Remarks |
10/07 | Replacement of engines for F-15 jets. | $300 million | Unclear | |
12/07 | AN/AAQ-33 Sniper pods | $220 million | Notification to Congress | |
12/07 | AWACS Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP) | $400 million | Notification to Congress | |
02/08 | 900 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) tail kits plus additional precision armament | $123 million | Notification to Congress | |
08/08 | UH-60L helicopters for the ground forces | $282 million | Signed contract | Request to Congress submitted in 2006.Undisclosed number of helicopters. |
09/08 | 12 AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters | $598 million | Notification to Congress | An August 2006 request exists for the upgrade of existing AH-64A helicopters to the AH-64D model. |
09/08 | AIM-9X air-to-air missiles. | $164 million | Notification to Congress | |
10/08 | F-15S radar upgrades and data relays. | $176 million | Notification to Congress | |
07/06 | Purchase of 58 M1A2 tanks plus upgrade of 315 existing tanks. | $2.9 billion | Notification to Congress | |
10/08 | Purchase of 24 Typhoon jets, with an option for 48 more. | $7–10 billion | Congressional approval for signed contracts | The deal was with Great Britain. Congressional approval required due to the presence of US made components in the jets |
06/09 | Purchase of Sniper advanced targeting pods. | Signed contract | ||
08/09 | Navigation, communications and flight control systems, including upgrade of Saudi AWACS fleet. | $1.5 billion | Notification to Congress | |
11/09 | 724 LAV-II light armored vehicles (ten different variants) for the Royal Saudi Arabian National guard. | $2.2 billion | Signed contract | Congress was first notified in 2006. The deal includes a large logistical and instructional component. Although the contracts are with the US, the systems are being manufactured in Canada. The official request involved $5.6 billion |
12/09 | Upgrade of 15 M1A2 Abrams tanks. | $75 million | Signed contracts | Two contracts that cover the planning stage, development, and the ordering of parts for 15 tanks |
05/10 | Sniper pods | $40 million | Signed contract | Second contract |
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