SAUDI ARABIA
SAUDI ARABIA
POPULATION
25,795,938
note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.44% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
29.74 births/1,000 population
Death rate:
2.66 deaths/1,000 population
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.8%
male: 84.7%
female: 70.8% (2003 est.)
ECONOMY
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $287.8 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.3% (2003 est.)
THE MILITARY
Military expenditures
$18 billion (2002)
Military expenditures in percent of GDP:
10% (2002)
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 8,240,714 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 4,725,514 (2004 est.)
Military branches:
LAND FORCES (Army)
73,000
somewhat in excess of the national guard's active duty compliment
eight brigades:
two armored,
five mechanized,
Each brigade consisted of one tank battalion, three mechanized infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, and a support battalion
and one airborne
five artillery battalions
. The infantry brigade consisted of three motorized battalions, an artillery battalion, and a support battalion.
The airborne brigade consisted of two paratroop battalions and three special forces companies.
Field artillery battalions were equipped with United States and French 155mm self-propelled howitzers and 105mm and 155mm towed guns.
The principal antitank weapons, many of them mounted on armored vehicles, were the United States TOW, the British Dragon, and the French HOT. Tactical air defense weapons included self-propelled guns, the French Crotale surface-to-air missile (SAM), and Stinger and Redeye shoulder-fired missiles. The army used transport and medical evacuation helicopters but had no assault helicopters.
The most visible unit of the army, because of its deployment around Riyadh and wherever the king traveled in the country, was the Royal Guard Regiment. The Royal Guard had been autonomous until it was incorporated into the army in 1964; nevertheless, it remained directly subordinate to the king and maintained its own communications network. The mission of the regiment was protection of the House of Saud. Detachments accompanied the king as well as several other members of the Al Saud at all times. Mainly recruited from the tribes of Najd, guardsmen were selected on the basis of their loyalty to the king and the Al Saud. The regiment's equipment included light weapons and armored vehicles.
The first Saudi armored brigade, designated the Fourth Armored Brigade, was structured and trained along French lines. It was equipped with 300 AMX-30 main battle tanks and 500 AMX-10P armored infantry fighting vehicles, both French-made (see table 12, Appendix).
The other armored brigade, designated Eighth Armored Brigade, was formed under United States guidance soon afterward in the late 1970s. To equip this brigade, Saudi Arabia purchased M-60A3 main battle tanks and M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) from the United States. In 1990 Saudi Arabia placed an order for 315 M1A2 Abrams, the most advanced United States tank; delivery was scheduled for 1993. Each brigade consisted of three tank battalions, a mechanized infantry battalion, and a support battalion. The French-equipped armored brigade was stationed at Tabuk in the northwest and the United States-equipped brigade at Khamis Mushayt in the southwest.
The army's strength was normally concentrated at four large military cities, built at great expense in the 1970s and 1980s with the assistance of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The first of these cities was at Khamis Mushayt in the mountains of the southwest, about 100 kilometers from the Yemeni border. The second was at Tabuk, protecting the northwestern routes leading from Jordan, Israel, and Syria. A third site, Assad Military City, was at Al Kharj, about 100 kilometers southeast of Riyadh, where the national armaments industry was also located.
The largest of the military cities, King Khalid, began functioning in 1985 although construction continued throughout the 1980s. Located near Hafar al Batin close to the border area facing Kuwait and Iraq, King Khalid Military City was sited near the strategic Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) road connecting Ad Dammam with Jordan. It was a self-contained city of 65,000, both military and civilian, built with a perimeter in the form of a huge octagon within which were a series of concentric smaller octagons. Houses and apartments for 6,500 families were provided, as well as numerous schools and mosques, power plants, shopping arcades, theaters, and clubs. Water was supplied by seventeen deep wells. Adjacent to the main installation were a hospital, race course, maintenance and supply areas, underground command bunkers, and antiaircraft missile sites. The logistic and other base resources at King Khalid Military City were indispensable to the allied buildup before the sweep into Iraq during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. It was reported that construction would begin in 1992 on a fifth military city in the Empty Quarter, 550 kilometers south of Riyadh. The new base would have a residential area to accommodate 20,000 people and a large air base with hardened aircraft shelters. The existing army base at Ash Sharawrah in the Empty Quarter was remote but important because of its proximity to the Yemeni border.
The equipment of the land forces came from a variety of sources but primarily from Western countries. However, in 1989 it was revealed that Saudi Arabia had purchased the intermediate range (2,600-kilometer) CSS-2 surface-to-surface missile (SSM) from China. According to The Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, as of 1992 Saudi Arabia had a stock of thirty launchers and fifty missiles. Of limited accuracy and reliability and with a payload of only 750 kilograms, the value of the SSMs was largely symbolic. Nevertheless, disclosure of the secret transaction--Saudi Arabia's first major acquisition of hardware from a communist country and a system that could strike anywhere in the Middle East and beyond--created an uproar in the United States.
, Navy,The development of the navy as a guardian force in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea dates from 1974 when the Saudi Naval Expansion Program (SNEP) was initiated with the assistance of the United States. Previously, the navy had only a few obsolete patrol boats, landing craft, and utility boats. As of 1992, the main combat vessels were four guided-missile frigates and four corvettes, nine missile-armed fast attack craft, and four minesweepers.
Between 1980 and 1983, the United States supplied four PCG-1 corvettes (870 tons) each armed with eight Harpoon antiship missiles in addition to six torpedo tubes. Nine fast attack craft, also delivered in the early 1980s, were similarly equipped with Harpoon missiles. The principal combat ships of the navy were four French F-2000 frigates (2,870 tons) commissioned in 1985 and 1986, each armed with a Dauphin helicopter, eight Otomat antiship missiles having a range of 160 kilometers, torpedo tubes, and a 100mm gun. In the same contract with France were two logistic support ships, twenty-four Dauphin helicopters, most armed with AS-15 antiship missiles, and support programs for training and maintenance. Saudi Arabia had contracted to purchase three Lafayette-type frigates (3,700 tons) from the French, armed with Exocet antiship missiles, and a 100mm gun. The Lafayettes were scheduled to enter into service after 1995. Discussions had been held with France and other countries for the supply of up to eight submarines. The large arms agreement with Britain in 1988 resulted in a contract for three Sandown-class minesweepers to be delivered between 1991 and 1993 (see table 15, Appendix).
Naval personnel strength, which was less than 1,000 in 1974, had reached 9,500 by 1991, including 1,500 marines. The marines were organized as an infantry regiment and were equipped with 140 armored vehicles of Spanish manufacture. It was reported in 1991 that an expansion of the marine corps was contemplated and new inventory requirements were being prepared.
The main naval headquarters were located at Riyadh. The navy was organized into the Western Fleet, with headquarters at Jiddah on the Red Sea, and the Eastern Fleet, with headquarters at Al Jubayl on the Persian Gulf. All four frigates were based in the Red Sea and the four corvettes in the Persian Gulf. Other naval facilities were located at Yanbu, Ad Dammam, and Ras al Mishab. The port of Ad Dammam had a large military sea terminal that proved fully adequate to handle United States and other cargoes during the buildup preceding the Persian Gulf War. The two main bases at Jiddah and Al Jubayl were constructed under SNEP. They were similar to the military cities of the army, with hardened command centers, family housing, schools, mosques, shopping centers, and recreational facilities for naval personnel and their families, in addition to maintenance, logistics, and training facilities.
AIR FORCE
of 1992, the first line combat air strength of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) consisted of some 200 aircraft, organized into six fighter/ground-attack squadrons and five fighter-air defense squadrons. The personnel strength of the air force was estimated to be about 18,000. Although modest in comparison to the air power of neighboring countries, the RSAF was considered to be the most modern and effective of the Saudi services. Its mission was to defend the economic installations and the widely scattered population centers of Saudi Arabia against attack and, particularly, to repel air attacks or amphibious assaults against the country's highly vulnerable oil pumping stations, processing and loading facilities, and oil platforms in the Persian Gulf.
The first-line combat fighters were deployed at four key airfields: Dhahran, to defend the main oil facilities of the Persian Gulf; At Taif, covering the ports and holy cities of the lower Red Sea; Khamis Mushayt, defending the Yemeni border zone; and Tabuk, to defend the key ports of the upper Red Sea area and Saudi air space adjacent to Jordan, Syria, and Israel. These four bases and the air base at Riyadh were protected from air attack by Improved Hawk (I-Hawk) SAMs, hardened aircraft shelters, and underground command posts.
The RSAF was established in 1950 during the reign of Abd al Aziz. Its early air operations had been under control of the army. In its initial years, the air force was influenced chiefly by the British, who provided aircraft and advisers and helped train Saudi pilots and maintenance personnel in the kingdom and in Britain. United States influence, emanating from the air base at Dhahran that was leased by the United States from 1952 to 1962, was also pivotal to the early development of the Saudi air force. Some United States aircraft were transferred to the RSAF from units operating at Dhahran and the United States Military Training Mission at Dhahran trained Saudi pilots and maintenance personnel.
In 1972 the first of 114 Northrop F-5s were delivered to the RSAF and, as of 1992, the air force still used three squadrons of later versions of the F-5 in the fighter-ground attack role, one squadron for reconnaissance, and a number of aircraft as advanced jet trainers. In 1984 first deliveries were taken of the more advanced F-15s. By 1992 the SAF had seventy-eight F-15s, including fighter conversion trainers (see Cooperation with the United States , this ch.).
As a result of the United States rebuff, Saudi Arabia turned to Britain to meet its requirements. In mid-1988, it was announced that as part of a huge transaction, Saudi Arabia would acquire Tornado fighters from Britain in their strike and air defense configurations, plus Hawk jet trainers and Pilatus PC-9 trainers built in Switzerland and outfitted in Britain. As of early 1992, three of the RSAF fighter-ground attack squadrons were equipped with Tornadoes and three squadrons were equipped with F-5Es. Two air defense squadrons were equipped with Tornadoes and three squadrons were equipped with F-15Cs. The three transport squadrons were equipped with C-130s in various versions and CASA C-212s, a medium transport of Spanish design. The two helicopter squadrons employed a variety of smaller rotary-wing aircraft (see table 13, Appendix). Undaunted by its previous failure to establish an assured supply of combat aircraft from the United States, Saudi Arabia announced in late 1991 that it had placed an order with McDonnell Douglas for an additional seventy-two F-15s. It appeared doubtful whether the sale would be approved by the United States administration and the Congress.
Because ground-based radar could not provide adequate advanced warning of attacks on sensitive targets along the Persian Gulf, particularly from nearby Iranian air bases, Saudi Arabia ordered five E-3A AWACS aircraft in 1981. To allay Israel's concerns, the aircraft were equipped specifically for the defensive needs of the Persian Gulf and Red Sea areas only. The first aircraft reached operational status in 1987 in time to assist United States naval operations in the tanker war in the Persian Gulf. Training and support services were provided by the Boeing Corporation and a United States Air Force team. Congress required that the United States have substantial control over the use of the airplanes and a sharing of the AWACS data.
In 1985 Saudi Arabia also contracted with a consortium headed by Boeing for the Peace Shield command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) system. Its purpose was to link information collected by AWACS and ground-based surveillance radar with fighters and ground air defense, including the I-Hawk SAMs, to provide integrated air defense against attacks across the gulf and Red Sea and from the direction of Yemen. In 1991 it was announced that the Hughes Aircraft Corporation had assumed management of the project, which had been subject to delays in its completion.
, Air Defense ForceSaudi air defense units were separated from the army in the mid-1980s to form a fourth service branch responsible for territorial air defense. The new fourth command was initially entrusted to Amir Khalid ibn Sultan Al Saud, son of the minister of defense and aviation.
The air defense forces, with an estimated 4,000 personnel in 1992, had as their primary responsibility the operation of thirty-three SAM batteries. Of these, sixteen batteries were equipped with 128 I-Hawk SAMs with a forty-kilometer range, which were emplaced around Riyadh, Ras Tanura, Dhahran, Jiddah, and key air bases at Khamis Mushayt, Hafar al Batin, and Tabuk, as well as the approaches to strategic oil facilities of the Eastern Province. The remaining seventeen batteries, forming a second line of air defense, were equipped with sixty-eight Shahine SAM fire units with a range of sixteen kilometers. These SAMs were a version of the French Crotale missile system mounted on AMX-30SA chassis. This mobile missile defense guarded the Saudi oil fields and other vital installations. An additional seventy-three Shahine fire units were employed as static defense. Both the IHawk and Shahine systems were linked to AWACS and to the Peace Shield command and control system. In addition to the missile defense, the air defense forces were equipped with Vulcan 20mm self-propelled guns and 30mm guns mounted on AMX-30SA chassis (see table 14, Appendix).
, National Guard,Saudi Arabian National Guard
Although not subordinate to the minister of defense and aviation and frequently referred to as a paramilitary or an internal security force, the national guard came to be regarded as a integral part of the Saudi military establishment with the modernization of its active units and its role in the Persian Gulf War. The force was a direct descendant of the Ikhwan, the tribal army that served Abd al Aziz so well during his long effort to retake the Arabian Peninsula for the House of Saud. After having to curb the independent military operations and excesses of the Ikhwan, Abd al Aziz permitted it to reappear as the so-called White Army (the name stemmed from the traditional Arab dress rather than uniforms worn by the members), which later became the national guard. It was not a reserve component similar to the national guard of the United States; at least part of it was an active-duty armed force existing parallel to, but separate from, the regular military service branches. The strength of the guard in 1992 was estimated at 75,000, but 20,000 of that total served in a militia status, on call for mobilization rather than on daily active duty.
The head of the national guard for three decades since 1962 was King Fahd's half brother and designated successor, Amir Abd Allah. Three of Abd Allah's sons also held positions in the guard organization. The guard chain of command was completely separate from regular military channels, as was its communication system. Commanders of major units reported directly to Abd Allah, and he reported to the king. In the post-World War II era, as Arab monarchs in other countries fell to coups and revolutions, the Saudi royal family evidently decided that a parallel army such as the national guard would be a form of insurance against coups. Its continued existence was, however, also a matter of tribal and family politics. Abd Allah was considered the leader of the Shammar branch of the Al Saud, a rival source of power to the Sudairi branch that dominated the regular armed forces (see The Royal Family , ch. 4).
Training of the national guard became the responsibility of the Vinnell Corporation of the United States in 1975. About 1,000 United States Vietnam veterans were initially recruited to serve in the long-term training program designed to convert the guard into a mobile and hard-hitting counterinsurgency force that could also reinforce the regular army if necessary. These contractors were supervised by a United States military group with the designation Office of the Program Manager--Saudi Arabian National Guard (OPM-SANG).
Extensive military infrastructure facilities have been built to ensure the comfort and well-being of national guard units. Their major cantonments were in Al Ahsa Oasis near Al Hufuf and the major oil installations of the Eastern Province and at Al Qasim in Najd Province in an area where many of the tribal elements were recruited and most training was conducted. A large new housing project for guard personnel, with associated schools, shops, and mosques, has been constructed near Riyadh, also the site of the guard's military academy, the King Khalid Military College. Other national guard military cities were located at At Taif, Ad Dammam, and Jiddah. A new headquarters complex was built in Riyadh in the early 1980s.
During the 1950s and early 1960s, the regular army and the national guard were both small and of roughly equal strength. The guard suffered when the army's expansion was given priority, but in the 1970s the decline was reversed when the guard was converted to a light mechanized force with the help of United States advisers. Initially consisting of four combined arms battalions, the active-duty component had by 1992 been enlarged to two mechanized brigades, each with four infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, and engineering and signals companies. The guard's mobility over desert terrain was assured by 1,100 V150 Commando wheeled APCs. Firepower came from 105mm and 155mm towed howitzers, 106mm recoilless rifles, and TOW antitank missiles mounted on APCs (see table 16, Appendix).
The second component of the national guard, made up of tribal battalions under the command of local shaykhs, was organized into four infantry brigades. These men, often the sons of local chiefs or of veterans of the original Ikhwan forces, reported for duty about once a month for the purpose of receiving stipends. They were provided with obsolete rifles, although many had individually acquired Soviet AK-47 assault rifles. Although neither particularly well trained nor well equipped, they could be counted on to be loyal to the House of Saud if called for service. Their enrollment in the guard was largely a means to bolster the subsidies paid to local shaykhs and to retain the support of their tribes.
The national guard was swiftly deployed to the border area after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and was actively engaged in the war, notably in the fighting to retake the town of Ras al Khafji (see Persian Gulf War, 1991 , this ch.). After the war ended, it was reported that an enlargement of the national guard to eleven or twelve active brigades was contemplated. In addition, the Commando APCs were to be replaced by more than 1,000 eight-wheeled light armored vehicles (LAVs) manufactured by General Motors in Canada. The LAVs were to be mounted with a variety of armaments, such as 25mm guns, kinetic energy guns, and TOW missile launchers
Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary)
AREA COMMANDS:
Eastern Area
--Mechanized Infantry Battalion
Northern Area, Hafr al-Batin
--20th Mechanized Brigade
--lst Aviation Battalion
Northwest Area, Tabuk
--12th Armor Brigade
-- 8th Mechanized Brigade
--Airborne Brigade
Southern Area, Khamis Mushayt
--Jizan Sub-Area Command
--4th Armored Brigade
--Najran Sub-Area Command
--10th Mechanized Brigade
--Sharurah Forces Command
--llth Mechanized Brigade
Al-Ta'if Area
Western Area, Jeddah
AGENCY: Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF):
RSAF Commander
--Office Director
DIRECTORATES:
Air Operations
Air Intelligence and Security
Air Training
Air Administration
TECHNICAL DEPARTMENTS:
Logistics
Planning and Budgets
Air Police
Safety
AIR BASE COMMANDS
King Faisal Airbase, Tabuk
--2nd Squadron
Jeddah Airbase, Jeddah
--4th Squadron
--20th Squadron
King Khalid Airbase, Khamis Mushayt
--6th Squadron
--15th Squadron
King Fahd Airbase, Al-Ta'if
--3rd Squadron
--5th Squadron
--10th Squadron
--17th Squadron
Riyadh Air Base, Riyadh
--lst Squadron
--l6th Squadron
--18th Squadron
King 'Abd al-'Aziz Airbase, Dhahran
--7th Squadron
--13th Squadron
AGENCY: Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF):
RSNF Commander:
--Office Director
Deputy Commander
CHIEFS OF STAFF:
Administration
Intelligence
Operations
Logistics
DIRECTORATES
Planning
Finance
Facilities
Naval Police
Religious Affairs
COMMANDS:
Commander, King Fahd Naval Base, Jeddah
Commander, King 'Abd al-'Aziz Naval Base, Jubail
Commodore, Western Fleet (Red Sea)
Commodore, Eastern Fleet (Arabian Gulf)
AGENCY: Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (RSADF):
Commander, RSADF
--Office Director
--Special Advisor
Deputy Commander
Chief of Operations
--Air Defense Command Center
Air Defense Forces Institute
DIRECTORATES:
Operations
Projects
--Electronic Warfare Department
Electronic Communications
Intelligence and Security
Chemical Warfare
Air Defense Forces Administration
Computer Center
Training
Logistics and Supply
Engineering and Housing
Inspections and Evaluations
General Manager, Finance & Administration
Officers Affairs
Religious Affairs
General Affairs
COMMANDS:
lst Air Defense Group, Riyadh
2nd Air Defense Group, Jeddah
3rd Air Defense Group, Tabuk
4th Air Defense Group, Khamis Mushayt
5th Air Defense Group, Dhahran
6th Air Defense Group, Hafr al-BatiN
1. PROGRAM TITLE: Al-Yamamah Project
CLIENT: MODA, RSAF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $7 billion
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Saudi-British government- (Direct or FMS) to-government
INCUMBENT: British Aerospace (BAE)
SCOPE:
Pursuant to the al-Yamamah I program contracted between the Saudi and British governments in September, l985 involving the sale of 72 Tornado, 30 Hawk, and 30 PC-9 trainer aircraft BAE has a formal government-to-government agreement to support RSAF operations. An additional 48 Tornado aircraft have also been contracted. BAE also operates the Air Academy in Riyadh and the Technical Training School in Dhahran.
A range of weapons and ground support services and equipment, plus construction of a variety of airbases and maintenance facilities, also formed part of this deal altogether estimated to be worth about $4 billion per year, with wide-ranging economic multiplier effects, to the U.K. aerospace industrial base. IAW contract provisions, BAE already currently provides technical assistance, maintenance, augmentation, and training for the Kingdom's Tornado aircraft fleet. While BAE is responsible for overall maintenance, engine maintenance is subcontracted to Rolls-Royce. Total BAE staff currently in Kingdom is approximately 4,000.
2. PROGRAM TITLE: C-130 Operations and Maintenance
CLIENT: MODA, RSAF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $173 million
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Direct
INCUMBENT: Lockheed Middle East Service (Lockheed Martin)
SCOPE:
To provide technical assistance, augmentation, and training for the RSAF fleet of 65 C-l30 aircraft. A technical staff of 650 U.S., 90 Saudi, and 40 TCN's is divided between operating locations in Jeddah and Riyadh. A separate contract for supply of C-130 spare parts held by Lockheed Middle East Services is renewed annually.
PROGRAM TITLE: F-l5 Purchase
CLIENT: MODA, RSAF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $9.67 billion
TYPE OF CONTRACT: FMS (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: McDonnell Douglas
SCOPE:
The RSAF currently owns and operates 72 F-l5C Eagle fighter aircraft (and has contracted for an additional 72 F-15 Strike Eagles.) The manufacturer/support contractor, McDonnell Douglas, supplies approximately 700 technical staff to maintain the fleet, with the engine maintenance component subcontracted to Pratt and Whitney. While the majority of the technicians are located at RSAF airbases in Dhahran, Khamis Mushayt, and al-Ta'if, there also are several staff positions in Jeddah and Riyadh. This is a direct, sole source contract to McDonnell Douglas.
3. PROGRAM TITLE: F-5 Technical Support
CLIENT: MODA, RSAF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $64 million
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Direct (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: Lear Siegler
SCOPE:
To provide technically qualified contractor manning to augment, assist, train, and advise RSAF personnel on F-5 operations. The primary work sites include: King 'Abd al-'Aziz Air Base; King Fahd Air Base; King Khalid Air Base; King Faisal Air Base; and RSAF Headquarters. A staff of some 649 technicians, managers, analysts and trainers is provided. The manning positions and job descriptions are specified by RSAF. In the execution of this project, levels 1 and 2 engine maintenance are performed by RSAF personnel with support from Lear Siegler; whereas higher depot level engine maintenance is contracted overseas.
4. PROGRAM TITLE: Ground Environmental Navigational Aids (GENA)
CLIENT: MODA, RSAF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $74 million
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Direct (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: PAN NESMA-Lear Siegler
SCOPE:
To provide technical, operational, and managerial personnel for the RSAF air defense network. A manning level of about 570 technicians is contracted for deployment at twelve sites throughout the Kingdom, some 300 of which are British. The primary missions of the GENA program are: air surveillance, air identification, control of fighter-intercept aircraft, navigational assistance to aircraft, and control and coordination of associated air and ground combat forces. The AWACS system is scheduled to eventually replace this program.
5. PROGRAM TITLE: Hughes Peace Shield
CLIENT: MODA, RSAF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: Originally $837 million now 1 billion plus
TYPE OF CONTRACT: FMS (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: Hughes Saudi Arabia Ltd
SCOPE:
To design, fabricate, and test a Kingdom-wide air defense system employing AWACS. The original program scope was defined by USAF Electronics Systems Division (ESD) and MITRE and awarded to Boeing under a competitive bid in l983 for $3.2 billion. Hughes was awarded management of the system in 1992, in the aftermath of the Gulf War.
6. PROGRAM TITLE: M1-A2 Tank Procurement
CLIENT: MODA Land Forces
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $2.96 billion
TYPE OF CONTRACT: FMS (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: General Dynamics
SCOPE:
The General Dynamics sale of 315 Ml-A2 Abrahms tanks to MODA contains an embedded full maintenance support contract. An option to procure an additional 150 tanks has not yet been exercised, and there are recurring 1997 reports that the RSLF are evaluating the desirability of French LeClerc and British Challenger II tanks as well. As there remains a standing land forces requirement for acquisition of 150 additional tanks.
7. PROGRAM TITLE: MSD Medivac
CLIENT: MODA, Medical Services Division
NEXT RENEWAL DATE: November, l995
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $27.3 million
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Direct (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: Bell Arabia (Bell Helicopter Textron)
SCOPE:
Bell Arabia operates and maintains a fleet of aircraft for the Medical Service Division medivac service. The fleet consists of 3 Gulfstream, one Lear Jet, and six rotary wing aircraft all of which are equipped for medical evacuation missions. The contractor work force consists of l67 persons, including management, pilots, flight crews, maintenance specialists, communications specialists, doctors, nurses, and program support specialists.
8. PROGRAM TITLE: Navy C3 Support
CLIENT: MODA, Naval Forces
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $16.2 million
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Direct (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
SCOPE:
SAIC installed the Saudi naval command, control, and communications C3 system in the early l980s. The current program involves about 50 technicians employed to maintain and upgrade the system. After the C3 system was commissioned and initial training had been completed, the SAIC staff began a phase-down. The Gulf War demonstrated a significant need for both software and systems upgrades, however, and MODA negotiated a staff increase and contract extension with SAIC.
9. PROGRAM TITLE: Patriot Missiles
CLIENT: MODA, RSADF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $580 million
TYPE OF CONTRACT: FMS (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: Raytheon
SCOPE:
This project provides technical assistance, training, and support for the Kingdom's Patriot and Hawk air defense systems. The contract supports $1.5 billion worth of Patriots, consisting of 8 PAC-2 units, purchased by the Kingdom in two separate procurements executed since the end of the Gulf War. This FMS contract was a direct source procurement to the Patriot manufacturer, Raytheon, commencing in l992. A total of $4.l billion was initially allocated by the Saudi government for Patriot missile purchase, installation, and maintenance, with an additional $173.3 million for facilities construction.
10. PROGRAM TITLE: Peace Sentinel
CLIENT: MODA, RSAF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $177 million
TYPE OF CONTRACT: FMS (Direct or FMS
INCUMBENT: Hughes
SCOPE:
To provide operations, maintenance, and training for three E-3 AWACS Aircraft and seven KE-3A Tanker Aircraft. The contractor provides a staff of approximately 200 personnel in-Kingdom for training, aircraft and systems maintenance, flight operations, and program support. Depot level maintenance requirements are accomplished in the United States.
11. PROGRAM TITLE: RSAF Helicopter Support
CLIENT: MODA, RSAF
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $23 million
TYPE OF CONTRACT: Direct (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: Agusta Bell
SCOPE:
To provide an approximate l60 person staffing level in qualified contract management, supervisors, and technical personnel to train, assist, augment, and advise RSAF staff in the maintenance of a mix of 57 AB-206, AB-212, and ASH-30 helicopters. The prime in-Kingdom site location is in al-Ta'if.
12. PROGRAM TITLE: Sawary
CLIENT: Royal Saudi Navy
APPROXIMATE VALUE: $2.7 billion
TYPE OF CONTRACT: FMS (Direct or FMS)
INCUMBENT: Thomson CSF
SCOPE:
Supply and maintain four F-2000 French frigates equipped with helicopter facilities and Astor surface-to-air missiles. Recent commitments have been made to procure three additional F-3000-S frigates.
13. Other significant defense contractor military projects include:
--Colsa International's contract with Saudi RSLF to modify and integrate its C3 system to incorporate new EW and air defense weapons systems.
--Lear Siegler's l85 man directed manning project with the RSNF to provide shipboard classified equipment maintenance and repair.
--BDM's RSAF engineering and technical logistics support and Peace Shield C3 modeling and simulation services contracts.
--Booz Allen's ongoing technical assistance contracts with the RSNF and the M1-A2 "Project Sword" RSLF tank project.
--MODA's National Defense Command Center's (NDCC) C3I system design undertaken by Hughes.
--TRW's current combined arms tactics/doctrine/systems engineering contract in support of Bradley Fighting Vehicles with the Royal Saudi Land Forces; and
--Vinnell's long-standing project for training the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
14. Other key O & M projects now being performed by Saudi/Foreign joint ventures include:
MOI Civil Defense Helicopter Maintenance
MODA Track and Wheel Vehicle
Air Navigation Systems O&M, PCA
Hawker Siddely RSAF Aircraft O&M
C. The Saudi Force Structure Development Process
I. Post Gulf War Force Structure
Saudi Arabia emerged from the 1991 Gulf War both determined and sobered that, despite significant weapons acquisitions in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the nation's military capacity remained inadequate for deterrence and defense. Accordingly, directly exposed to the potent capabilities of modern weapons technologies for the first time, a determined effort was initiated to develop a defense more capable of meeting perceived regional threats.
The challenge was significant. The Kingdom's "post-Gulf War" Ministry of Defense and Aviation (MODA) major military forces stood at approximately 102,000 troops divided amongst the four services: the Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF), Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), Royal Saudi Naval Force (RSNF), and Royal Saudi Air Defense Force (RSADF). These forces are briefly outline here based on information contained in such publications as the Defense Foreign Affairs Handbook, 1990-1991 and the U.K. International Institute for Strategic Studies publication "Military Balance: 1992-1993."2 The organizational structures and disaggregated major equipment configurations for each of MODA's four combat arms branches in the immediate aftermath of the Gulf War were as follows.
(i) RSLF
The Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF) consisted of some 50,000 soldiers organized into armored, airborne, and mechanized infantry brigades. Their ground weapons inventory included M60-A3 tanks, armored personnel carriers, recovery vehicles, howitzers, and committed but not yet accessioned M1-A2 tanks and Bradley M2-A2 fighting vehicles. Their airborne capability included UH-60 Desert Hawk and OH-58 Combat Scout helicopters and committed, but not yet accessioned, AH-64 Apache helicopters.
The RSLF organization for battle was as follows:
2 armored brigades.
4 mechanized brigades.
l infantry brigade.
l airborne brigade.
(2 airborne battalions and 3 special forces companies).
l Royal Guard regiment.
5 artillery battalions.
The RSLF operated from six primary commands based on designated coverage area:
the Eastern Area Command at Dhahran, which contains a mechanized infantry battalion.
the Northern Area Command at Hafr al-Batin, which contains the 20th Mechanized Brigade and the 1st Aviation Battalion.
the Northwest Area Command at Tabuk, which contains the 12th Armor Brigade, the 8th Mechanized Brigade, and an Airborne Brigade.
the Southern Area Command at Khamis Mushayt, which contains the 4th Armor Brigade, 10th Mechanized Brigade, and 11th Mechanized Brigade.
the al-Ta'if Command.
the Western Area Command at Jeddah.
(ii) RSAF
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) consisted of approximately 20,000 men and 285 combat aircraft. It possessed a tactical fighter inventory of U.S. F-l5C, F-l5D, F-5B, F-5E, F-5F, and RF-5 aircraft and British Tornados. They were supported by U.S. E-3 AWACS surveillance aircraft, KE-3 tankers, and C-l30 logistics aircraft. Organizational deployment of its air fleet was as follows:
Role/Mission Number of Squadrons
Fighter/ground attack 6
Fighter 5
Reconnaissance 2
Airborne Early Warning l
OCU (conversion training) 2
Training 1
Transport 3
Helicopters 3
The RSAF airbase commands, and their fleet contingents, consisted of:
King Faisal Airbase, Tabuk, which houses the 2nd strike squadron (F-5s).
Jeddah Airbase, Jeddah, which houses the 4th and 20th transport squadrons (C-130s).
King Khalid Airbase, Khamis Mushayt, which houses the 6th, 15th, 34th and 66th fighter/intercept/reconnaissance squadrons (F-l5s/Tornados/F-5s).
King Fahd Airbase, al-Ta'if, which houses the 3rd, 5th, and l0th fighter/training squadrons (F-l5s/F-5s), the 12th and 14th helicopter squadrons (Agusta Bell (AB) 205s and 212s),as well as the l7th reconnaissance squadron (RF-5s).
Riyadh Airbase, Riyadh, which houses the lst, 16th, and l8th transportation/electronic warfare squadrons (E-3As/C-130s/others).
King 'Abd al-'Aziz Airbase, Dhahran, which houses the 7th, 13th, and 29th fighter/bomber squadrons (Tornados/F-l5s).
(iii) RSNF
The RSNF consisted of approximately l0,000 troops (including 1500 marines) outfitted with a varied assortment of Western equipment ranging from French frigates and helicopters; to U.S. corvettes, minesweepers, and patrol craft; to British minesweepers and Spanish amphibious craft. Major systems within the RSNF included 8 Frigates; 12 Patrol Boats; 5 Minesweepers; 12 Amphibious Landing Craft; and over 40 naval helicopters. The major RSNF commands included:
HQ, Naval Forces, Riyadh.
King Fahd Naval Base, Jeddah.
King 'Abd al-'Aziz Naval Base, Jubail.
Western Fleet, Red Sea (Jeddah HQ).
Eastern Fleet, Arabian Gulf (Jubail HQ).
Al-Dammam, Ra's al-Mishab, and Ra's al-Ghar naval bases.
(iv) RSADF
The Royal Saudi Air Defense Force (RSADF) consisted of approximately 15,500 men. Its weaponry included U.S. I-Hawk, Stinger, and Redeye missiles; plus Vulcan gun systems as well as sundry (French) Shahine/Crotale, (Spanish), and (Swedish) Oerlikon air defense weapons systems. The RSADF was organized into a Riyadh headquarters and six separate Air Defense Groups (ADGs):
(1) lst (Central) Air Defense Group, Riyadh, consisting of 3 Hawk batteries and 2 Oerlikon batteries.
(2) 2nd (Western) Air Defense Group, Jeddah, consisting of 3 Hawk batteries, 2 Oerlikon batteries, 1 Crotale battery, 1 Shahine battalion, 1 Oerlikon battalion, 2/30 mm Sabre batteries, and the Air Defense Institute.
(3) 3rd (Northwest) Air Defense Group, Tabuk, consisting of 2 Hawk batteries and 1 Shahine battalion.
(4) 4th (Southern) Air Defense Group, Khamis Mushayt, consisting of 1 Hawk battery, 8 Oerlikon batteries, 1 Shahine battalion, and 2/ 30 mm Sabre batteries;
(5) 5th (Eastern) Air Defense Group, Dhahran, consisting of 6 Hawk batteries, 12 Oerlikon batteries, 5 Crotale batteries, and 1 Shahine battalion.
(6) 6th (Northern) Air Defense Group, Hafr al-Batn, consisting of 2 Hawk batteries and 4 Oerlikon batteries
II. Defining Post Gulf War Requirements
The Saudis emerged from Desert Storm sobered by the realization that their force structure development goals were not commensurate with the regional threats that they confronted. Accordingly, they candidly identified shortcomings, and carefully planned for their elimination. Witnessing first hand the technological advantages of modern warfare, particularly those possessed by the United States, they aspired to the deterrent capabilities that they afforded.
Recognizing their economic as well military challenges, they thus embarked upon a strategy to simultaneously solve both creating technology-based military jobs through defense systems acquisitions. To this end, a development program known as "offset" was implemented requiring foreign defense contractors to reinvest up to 30% of their pre-tax profits in joint venture projects that build economic infrastructure that contributes to local industrial diversification. Currently, 15 "offset" projects primarily in military hardware systems maintenance/ overhaul and communications have been created.
Yet since the end of Desert Storm, and despite ongoing modernization planning, the Kingdom has enjoyed only limited success in meeting force structure development goals. Severe budgetary cutbacks, occasioned by war debt and fiscal downturns, have caused significant disruptions in programmed MODA force upgrades and expansions in the 1991-1997 period. The price of Desert Storm, as noted, has been conservatively estimated at $64 billion, in an economy whose 1991 GDP was about $l00 billion.
The resulting acquisitions budget crunch has caused many major projects, such as Sulayyil Airbase, scheduled for opening in the Southern Region in l994, to be suspended leaving Khamis Mushayt as the Kingdom's only significant air base in the south.
With many major post-Gulf War military acquisitions not yet fielded, military organizational changes to accommodate the new hardware procurements, in many cases, have yet to take place.
In certain defense sectors, progress has been realized. More than $30 billion in capital commitments were made to procure such major weapon systems as 315 M1-A2 tanks from General Dynamics; 48 additional IDS Tornado aircraft from British Aerospace; 72 F-15 Strike Eagles from McDonnell Douglas, and 3 French F-3000-S frigates. Other commitments included:
2,400 Hummer (HUMMV) Vehicles ($123 million).
2,486 BMY trucks ($247 million).
12 Apache AH 64 helicopters with Hellfire missiles.
6 French "Super Puma" helicopters and 20 small patrol boats ($200 million).
7 C-130 tanker aircraft.
12 French Crotale SAM batteries ($680 million).
12 F-l5 combat fighter replacement aircraft.
150 M60-A3 tanks ($206 million).
50 Stinger missiles + 150 reloads ($12 million).
24 F-15 AIM-9L Sidewinder air interdiction missiles and l0,000 Astro rockets from Brazil.
Other significant acquisitions likewise were actively pursued and remain in varying states of consummation. They include:
550 M2-A2 Bradley fighting vehicles.
207 M113 armored personnel carriers.
14 additional Patriot PAC-II missile systems.
1,750 TOW II-A missiles
l00 German Fuchs NBC vehicles, 50 Gerhard armored personnel carriers, and l00 Marder fighting vehicles; and a French "Mistral" air defense system. The costs of many of these programs were significant, as indicated in Table II.
TABLE II
Project Purchase Project Cost
F-15 aircraft from McDonnell Douglas $13.4 billion
Ml-A2 tanks from General Dynamics $2.96 billion
Tornado/Hawk purchases from British Aerospace $7.0 billion
Patriot PCA-II missile systems from Raytheon $5.4 billion
AWACS/C3I from Hughes $5.6 billion
French frigates (Sawary) from Thomson CSF $2.7 billion
Bradley Fighting Vehicles from FMC $2.0 billion
The first tranches of some of these systems are just now beginning to arrive in the Kingdom, though the delivery of others, such as the first French F-3000-S frigate, have been postponed to the year 2002. Other key programs have also been postponed indefinitely. A comprehensive U.S.-Saudi "Joint Security Review" (JSR), completed immediately after Desert Storm in the summer of l99l, was designed to be the master blueprint driving future Saudi force expansion. In light of the cash flow crunch caused by the war effort, however, MODA was compelled to dedicate a major share of its budgeted resources to liquidating its "big ticket item" FMS purchases and to conduct its own internal force development review to adapt the JSR to budgetary exigencies leaving the procurement process effectively in stasis. A commitment to buy 150 additional M1-A2 tanks, for instance, has been held up for four years.
The Kingdom's force structure development goals were most ambitious and stretched out over a decade-long planning cycle, as indicated in Table III. (It is noteworthy to reflect that the number of RSAF tactical air squadrons planned for year 2001 quantitatively approached the squadron total ultimately contemplated for the active U.S. Air Force under the Pentagon's "bottom-up" review" announced in 1993!)
TABLE III
1993:
RSLF: seven brigades
RSNF: three marine battalions
RSAF: l4 combat aircraft squadrons
1996:
RSLF: two divisions and two divisions under formation; two separate brigades (one heavy, one airborne)
RSNF: one marine brigade, two separate battalions; 120 ships, primarily patrol and amphibious aircraft
RSAF: l6 combat aircraft squadrons
2001: (projected)
RSLF: five divisions, two divisions under formation
RSNF: two marine brigades; 127 ships, including 71 patrol craft, 22 amphibious craft, l8 minesweepers, and 16 support craft
RSAF: l9 combat aircraft squadrons
These objectives were to have been achieved with the following additions to combat arms capability:
(i) RSLF
In addition to some 315 Ml-A2 tanks to be purchased from General Dynamics, the RSLF's fighting capability would be augmented by the acquisition of as many as 550 M2-A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Several new armor and mechanized infantry brigades, as well as several new military operating bases, were contemplated.
(ii) RSAF
Projected new additions to RSAF capabilities included the purchase of 72 F-l5 tactical fighter aircraft from McDonnell Douglas, 48 Tornados from British Aerospace, and various other new long-range interdiction aircraft to augment both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capability, including the possible acquisition of four F-16 or similar type multi-purpose tactical fighter squadrons.
(iii) RSNF
Projected RSNF fleet acquisitions included the three new French frigates, naval and marine transport and special operations helicopters, and various maritime patrol boats as well as the formation of several new "naval infantry" (marine) battalions.
(iv) RSADF
Having committed to purchasing eight U.S. Patriot PAC-II air defense missile systems from Raytheon Corporation, the RSADF likewise was to have acquired 14 more PAC-II Patriot missile systems and additional Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) batteries as well as various other new missile, radar, and satellite communications systems and passive electronic warfare (EW) jamming systems, and attendant installation security systems.
Aggregate hardware costs for the program's implementation were estimated at slightly more than $49 billion in 1991 dollars. Because of aforesaid budgetary constraints, however, few of these goals have been achieved and many more have yet to be attempted. Since the onset of Desert Shield in August, 1991, for instance, $24 billion in Saudi FMS sales have been contracted for seven principal U.S.- provided MODA programs. By 1997, $21 of this $24 billion in FMS-funded weapons systems had yet to be delivered and $9.15 billion in Saudi FMS payments had yet to be made.
These shortfalls impact seriously upon local ability to contract additional defense capabilities procurements in two separate ways. First, with 7/8th of the dollar value of weapons systems purchased yet to be delivered, the actual O&M costs of the seven major procurements have yet to be absorbed in service-level operating budgets. Second, there has been significant slippage in the targeted annual FMS payments schedule as shown in the following paradigm:
Year Targeted Funded
1994 $4.1 billion $3.35 billion
1995 $4.6 billion $4.0 billion
1996 $4.8 billion $4.0 billion
Totals $18.4 billion $14.85 billion
It should be further noted that future MODA military hardware acquisitions are competing directly for revenue dollars with $20.7 billion in Saudi National Guard FMS procurements for several fully equipped Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) brigades and 7000 HUMM-V vehicles
