Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces

The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (RSADF) (Arabic: قُوَّات الدِفَاع الجوّي المَلكِيَّ السُّعُودِي) is the aerial defense service branch of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF). It is fourth of the five service branches of the MOD.^[1][3] It has its HQ in Riyadh,^[b] where there is also an elaborate underground command facility that co-ordinates the kingdom's advanced "Peace Shield" radar and air defense system, with an estimated 10,000 active duty military personnel in 2025.^[4][5] Along with the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), it has the responsibility for securing the skies of Saudi Arabia.^[6]

Royal Saudi Air Defense
الدِفَّاع الجوّي المَلكِيَّ السُّعُودِيَّ
Emblem of the RSADF
Founded	1930 (1930)[a]
Country	Saudi Arabia
Type	Air defense
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	10,000[2]
Part of	Saudi Armed Forces GSP (as of 1981)[3]
Headquarters	Riyadh (central HQ)[3]
Colors
Engagements	Action of June 5, 1984 Gulf War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict
Website	www.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.^[7]

Between 2017 and 2020, the RSAF claimed the interception of 311 cruise missiles and 343 suicide drones but failed to stop some of the attacks against the strategic Saudi sites of the Houthi movement and Iran.^[8]

Peace Shield

• Remote-controlled air/ground radio communications sites.
• 17 Lockheed Martin AN/FPS-117 long-range phased array, 3-dimensional air search radar.
• 6 Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-43 portable 3-dimensional tactical air search radar.
• Raytheon Improved HAWK air defense missile system.
• Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot air defense missile system
• Oerlikon Contraves Skyguard 35mm Twin Cannon Short Range air defense system
• Lockheed Martin THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system.
• LIG Nex1 KM-SAM^[9]

Source:^[10]

Inventory

RSAD Inventory^[11]

Weapon	Origin	1990	2000	2005	2006
Anti-Aircraft Artillery
M163 VADS	United States	92	92	92	92
AMX-30SA	France	50	50	50	50
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	141
I-HAWK	United States	128	128	128	128
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

• Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force

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