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 RSAF maintains the third largest fleet of F - 15s after the USAF and the JASDF . The backbone of the RSAF is currently the Boeing F - 15 Eagle , with the Panavia Tornado also forming a major component . The Tornado and many other aircraft were delivered under the Al Yamamah contracts with British Aerospace ( now BAE Systems ) . The RSAF ordered various weapons in the 1990s , including Sea Eagle anti - ship missile s , laser - guided bomb s and gravity bomb s . Al - Salam , a successor to the Al Yamamah agreement will see 72 Eurofighter Typhoon s delivered by BAE . History . The RSAF was formed in the mid - 1920s with British assistance . It was re - organized in 1950 and began to receive American assistance from 1952 including the use of Dhahran by the United States Air Force . The Saudi forces are equipped with mainly western hardware . Main suppliers are companies in the United Kingdom and the United States of America . Both the UK and the US are involved in training programs conducted in Saudi Arabia . During the 1980s and ' 90s , by Middle Eastern standards the armed forces of Saudi Arabia were relatively small . Its strength however was derived from advanced technology . The backbone of the fighter force is formed by 134 Panavia Tornado s from which a batch of 48 Tornado IDS were ordered in 1993 under the al - Yamamah II program and 72 F - 15S aircraft delivered from the mid - 90s that operate beside the more than 120 F - 15C / D aircraft delivered starting in 1981 . Aircraft training is executed on the Pilatus PC - 9 , BAe Hawk , Boeing F - 15D Eagle and the Northrop F - 5F Tiger II . The C - 130 Hercules is the mainstay of the transport fleet and the Hercules is assisted by CASA CN - 235s . Reconnaissance is performed by 17sq with its RF - 5E and the Boeing E - 3A is the Airborne Early Warning platform operated by 18sq . The VIP support fleet consists of a wide variety of civil registered aircraft such as the Boeing 707 , 737 and 747 , Lockheed Tri - Stars , MD11s and G1159A as well as Lockheed L - 100 - 30 . The HZ - prefix used in the civilian registrations of these aircraft derived from the former name of the territory ( Hejaz ) Recent purchases . The Al Yamamah contract was controversial because of the alleged bribes associated with its award . Nonetheless , the RSAF announced its intention to purchase the Eurofighter Typhoon from BAE Systems in December 2005 . On 18 August 2006 a memorandum of understanding was signed for 72 aircraft in a GB£6 - 10 billion deal . Following this order , the investigation of the Al Yamamah contract was suppressed by the British Prime minister Tony Blair in December 2006 , citing " strategic interests " of the UK . On the 17 September 2007 Saudi Arabia announced it had signed a £4 . 4bn deal with BAE Systems for 72 Eurofighter Typhoons . On 29 December 2011 , the United States signed a $ 29 . 4 billion Deal to sell 84 F - 15s in the SA ( Saudi Advanced ) configuration . The sale includes upgrades for the older F - 15s up to the SA standard and related equipment and services . On 23 May 2012 , British defence firm BAE Systems is to sell 22 BAE Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air Force for a total of £1 . 9 billion ( $ 3 billion ) . The deal also includes simulators , ground and training equipment and spares . On April 2013 , British defence firm BAE Systems delivers the first two new Typhoon Eurofighters of 24 to KSA . In 2013 , the USAF tendered for security services to protect the Saudi air force from Cyberwarfare . Divisions . The RSAF units are divided into Wings that are dispersed across the seven air bases : Current aircraft inventory . On 11 August 2011 , The Saudi Royal Air Force received 24 Typhoons from British Royal Air Force ( Taif Airbase ) . On 12 August 2009 , UPI reported that Saudi Arabia was seeking upgrades for their E - 3 fleet and aerial refuelling tanker aircraft . In October 2010 , an interest for a 60 billion USD defense procurement package from the US was unveiled . It consisted of around 30 billion for 84 F - 15SA fighters , upgrade of the existing F - 15S to the same standard , parts and munitions as well as other 30 billion for 72 UH - 60M , 36 AH - 6 I , 36 AH - 64D , 12 MD530 helicopters and parts . The helicopter request is for the Saudi Arabian Army . Commanders . The following officers have been commanders of the RSAF : Lieutenant General Fayyadh H . AL Ruwaili