Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia The Saudi armed forces ( , " " ) consists of the Saudi Arabian Army , the Royal Saudi Air Force , the Royal Saudi Navy , the Royal Saudi Air Defense , the Saudi Arabian National Guard ( SANG ) , and paramilitary forces , totaling over 200 , 000 active - duty personnel . In 2005 the armed forces had the following personnel : the army , 75 , 000 ; Royal Saudi Air Force , 18 , 000 ; air defense , 16 , 000 ; Royal Saudi Navy , 15 , 500 ( including 3 , 000 marines ) ; and the SANG had 75 , 000 active soldiers and 25 , 000 tribal levies . In addition , there is a military intelligence service , the General Intelligence Presidency ( GIP ) . The Saudi Arabian National Guard is not a reserve but a fully operational front - line force , and originated out of Abdul Aziz ’ s tribal military - religious force , the Ikhwan . Its modern existence , however , is attributable to it being effectively Abdullah ’ s private army since the 1960s and , unlike the rest of the armed forces , is independent of the Ministry of Defense . The SANG has been a counterbalance to the Sudairi faction in the royal family ; Salman bin Abdul - Aziz Al Saud , the minister of defense , is one of the so - called ‘ Sudairi Seven ’ and controls the remainder of the armed forces Armed services . The 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 base s , and for Meteorology departments . Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz had held the portfolio of Saudi Arabia ' s Minister of Defence and Aviation from 1962 to 2011 . The vice minister , Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz , was his full brother and served until November 2011 . His oldest son , Khalid bin Sultan , was appointed assistant minister in 2001 and was in office until April 2013 . As of 1987 members of the air force , army , and navy are mainly recruits from groups of people without a strong identity from the Nejd tribal system and people from urban areas . 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 . In 1996 Saudi Arabia had military cities in the northeast , the King Khalid Military City , at Tabuk , at Dharhran , and at Abha in the southwest . There was a 1996 report that construction of a military city at Jizan , orientated toward Yemen , had begun with Defence Minister Prince Sultan pouring the first concrete on 8 May 1996 . Royal Saudi Air Force . 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 Typhoon s and upgraded Tornado IDS , 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 . Ballistic Missile Forces . Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Forces ( RSSMF ) equipped with Chinese DF - 3 ( CSS - 2 ) Dongfeng missile sold to Saudi Arabia by China . A conventional high - explosive warhead ( 2150 kg ) variant of the DongFeng 3A Intermediate - Range Ballistic Missile was developed for an export order to Saudi Arabia in 1987 . About 30 ~ 120 missiles and 9 ~ 12 launchers were reportedly delivered in 1988 , though no known test launch has ever been made in the country . The Strategical Missile Forces is top secret , so there is no open information concerning the budget and personnel . Probably it is separate branch officially called Strategic Missile Forces ( guessing by its website URL http : / / www . smf . gov . sa / ) . But RSSMF certainly has one advanced Al - Watah ballistic missile base ( found on the satellite images ) in the rocky central part of Saudi Arabia , some 200 km south - west of the capital city Riyadh . Two other bases include Al Sulayyil ballistic missile base ( the older base , placed 450 km southwest from Riyadh ) and Al Jufayr base ( placed 90 km south of Riyadh ) share many similarities , suggesting that they share the same role . 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 , and main operating bases at Dhahran , Taif , Tabuk , Khamis Mushait and Al Kharj . 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 , Jizan , and Al Wajh ; the Eastern Fleet has bases in Al Jubayl , Ad Dammam , Ras al Mishab , 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 and Aviation and is organized into three mechanized infantry brigades , five infantry brigades , and one ceremonial cavalry squadron . The SANG is equipped with 100 Saudi - manufactured Al - Fahd infantry fighting vehicles . It has been strengthened by the purchase of US $ 1 billion worth of new armored vehicles from Canada . 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 nations in the world in government spending for its military , representing about 7 percent of its 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 received $ 53 . 6 billion in US military grants between 1949 - 2007 . On 20 October 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 , 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 and 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 . Recent military operations . Gulf War . When Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia ' s northern neighbor Kuwait in 1990 , 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 : Saudi pilots flew more than 7 , 000 sorties and Saudi troops took part in the battles around the Saudi town of Raʾs al - Khafji . 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 over southern Iraq set up after 1991 , as well , the country ' s oil exports through the shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf are protected by the US Fifth Fleet , based in Bahrain . It was conducted by Joint Task Force Southwest Asia ( JTF - SWA ) with the mission of monitoring and controlling airspace south of the 32nd Parallel ( extended to the 33rd Parallel in 1996 ) in Iraq , following the 1991 Gulf War until the 2003 invasion of Iraq . This was one of the stated motivations behind the September 11th terrorist attacks , as well as the Khobar Towers bombing . Bin Laden interpreted the Prophet Muhammad 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 November 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 January 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 and the Al - Faris 8 - 400 armored personnel carrier , used by Saudi land forces , were manufactured by the Abdallah Al Faris Company for Heavy Industries , based in Dammam . Also , Al - Kaser and Al - Mansour armored vehicles and the Al - Masmak MRAP which has achieved very high protection , all are saudi - made Ashibl 1 and Ashibl 2 are Saudi - made armored vehicles used by the Royal Saudi Land Forces and the kingdom ' s most elite special operations units of Battalion 85 . Saudi Arabia has also recently unveiled the new Tuwaiq MRAP