Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia

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Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
القوات المسلحة الملكية العربية السعودية
guide
Commander in Chief : Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz
Military Commander: Chalid Al Saud
Military strength
Active soldiers: 688,000 (2012)
Reservists: 25,000 (2012)
Conscription: no
Eligibility for military service: 17 (2012)
household
Military budget: US $ 82 billion World ranking: 3 (2016)
history
Founding: 1932
The then Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces George W. Bush and the Commander in Chief of the Saudi Armed Forces King Abdullah.
An American-made F-15 general-purpose aircraft of the Saudi Air Force.

The armed forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ( Arabic القوات المسلحة الملكية السعودية, DMG al-Quwwāt al-musallaḥa al-malakiyya as-saʿūdiyya , English Royal Saudi Arabian Armed Forces ) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . After the armed forces of Israel and the Turkish armed forces, they are considered to be the most powerful military in the Middle East .

They consist of five branches of the armed forces with a total strength of about 230,000 men. There is no conscription , the armed forces are purely a professional army , the minimum age for entry is eighteen years. Only men can serve in the Saudi armed forces. Also due to the strong population growth, the Saudi Arabian military has been expanded considerably in the last few decades. In the mid-1980s the troop strength was still around 60,000 men.

The King Khalid base of the Gulf Cooperation Council is in Saudi Arabia .

budget

In 2011, Saudi Arabia spent about 59.09 billion US dollars (42.51 billion euros ) on its defense, placing the kingdom in 5th place in an international comparison. The proportion of its defense spending is regularly between 10% and 14th % of gross national income . This makes Saudi Arabia, from a fiscal point of view, one of the most heavily militarized countries on earth. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute , the increased Saudi military budget since 2005 meant that, statistically speaking, the Middle East was the largest investor in the military. In 2004, the military budget was around 18.8 billion US dollars (12.87 billion euros), in 2005 it was 25 billion US dollars (17.12 billion euros).

From 2004 to 2007 an increase of 12.70 billion US dollars (8.70 billion euros) can be seen.

The kingdom made $ 60 billion in arms purchases in 2006 and 2007. The total is expected to increase to $ 86.5 billion by the end of 2008.

Budget in regional comparison

The kingdom's military budget is by far the largest in the region (as of 2011), as the following table shows:

country Budget in US dollars Budget in Euro 1
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia 59 billion 42 billion
TurkeyTurkey Turkish armed forces 43 billion 33 billion
IranIran Armed Forces of Iran 20 billion 14.4 billion
IsraelIsrael Israel Defense Forces 15 billion 10.8 billion
EgyptEgypt Armed Forces of Egypt 2.8 billion 2 billion

Between the military budget of Saudi Arabia and the country with the next highest military budget , Turkey , there is a relatively high sum of 13 billion US dollars, which makes the Saudi armed forces particularly interesting as a customer for arms companies.

In 2016, the budget was over $ 82 billion. The kingdom thus had the highest military expenditure in the world after the USA and China. This corresponds to 13.7% of the GDP share, measured by GDP it is on world rankings 1.

According to experts, the primary reason for Saudi Arabia's above-average military budget is the fear of the government, the Saud royal family , that a military defeat could worsen the already tense domestic political situation and lead to the overthrow of the monarchy and thus the Al Saud dynasty . This opinion coincides with the fact that the government has been investing heavily and constantly in the internal security apparatus for years.

1 : Conversion into euros from the exchange rate on January 13, 2008

2 : All information on the size, budget, armament and structure of the Iranian armed forces are more or less speculative due to the strict secrecy of the state in its military affairs and are largely based on US sources.

guide

The US Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney with the Saudi Defense Minister Sultan ibn Abd al-Aziz

Crown Prince Sultan ibn Abd al-Aziz Al Saʿud held the post of Minister of Defense and Civil Aviation (Defense Minister) from October 21, 1962 until his death on October 22, 2011 and was the Inspector General of the Kingdom. In this capacity, he equipped the kingdom's military through arms deals with the US , Great Britain and France . Much of Prince Sultan's wealth is said to come from commissions from state arms deals. His deputy was his brother Abd al-Rahman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saʿud, the eldest son of Crown Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Abd al-Aziz Al Saʿud, who has been assistant to the deputy and military leader of the armed forces since 2001.

The absolute ruling king and prime minister Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz has sole military command of the armed forces . He has the sole authority to declare war and peace and to appoint or dismiss the chief of staff , the ministers and the commanders of the armed forces . The governors of the provinces ( manatiq ) and the commanders of the National Guard for the respective province subordinate to them can also only be appointed and dismissed by the king. Every commander of a branch of the armed forces and the director of the secret service must report to the king, the interior minister and the crown prince and their advisers at regular meetings.

The leadership of the armed forces in the constitution

The leadership of the armed forces is enshrined in the Saudi constitution, according to Article 60:

“The king is the chief commander in chief of the armed forces. He appoints and dismisses officers according to the law. "

Article 61 states:

"The king declares a state of emergency, mobilizes the armed forces or declares war."

The king's separation of powers over the military, as over the state, is not limited, so the king can issue orders without discussing or coordinating them with anyone, and he owes no one to any explanation or accountability for orders or intentions. The highest security policy body is also the king, who has sole and unrestricted (absolute) authority over the police , the secret service ( al-Muchabarat al-'Amma ) and the military. All arms import contracts must be approved by the king.

Acting Minister of Defense is Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud.

History and current situation

The ten highest military expenditure (and EU) in billion euros (2006)

In the 1930s, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud , the state's founder, showed little interest in building a Saudi security apparatus and relied on the British forces present in the region in this regard . The Saudi military has expanded significantly since the oil boom began in the 1940s following a political conflict between Saudi Arabia and the British, with the help of the US ally . The good relations between the USA and Saudi Arabia were based primarily on those between the Saudi royal family and the American oil company Aramco .

In February 1945 the USA and Saudi Arabia sign a treaty on a military base in the Persian Gulf, on the question of Palestine, and a military alliance. Since then, the United States has been the kingdom's closest ally.

The kingdom did not take part in the military actions of the Arab-Israeli wars ; However, it supported the common cause of the Arabs through massive financial aid to the Palestinian organizations and through a temporary reduction in oil supplies to the western world under King Faisal , see: Oil crisis . Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia’s good economic and diplomatic relations with the West have in principle been preserved. Although the Saudi armed forces have not yet participated in combat missions abroad, with the exception of the Second Gulf War, support for Israel's Arab neighbors in the Middle East conflict is a constant of Saudi security policy.

Saudi Arabia has been officially at war with Israel since 1948 ( Palestine War), the state of Israel is still not recognized, there are no political contacts between the two countries, which is why Israel is critical of arms exports to Saudi Arabia. In 1978, for example, the United States tried to negotiate Saudi Arabia for the delivery of F-15 fighter planes stationed far away from the Red Sea, but this failed.

With the bases in Turaif , Guraiet and Tabuk , Saudi Arabia has three bases in the immediate vicinity of Israel, and Saudi aircraft needed less than six minutes to travel from Tabuk to Eilat .

Despite the political tensions between the Kingdom and Israel, Saudi Arabia is campaigning for a peace initiative in the Middle East conflict.

In the 1980s, the Saudi military intended to purchase the German Leopard 2 main battle tank . Despite the promise of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and Franz Josef Strauss , the deal did not materialize, and the opposition turned out to be too great. The subsequent federal government under Helmut Kohl stuck to its 1983 decision not to deliver the weapon system to a potential opponent of Israel. Nevertheless, the Federal Republic of Germany is an important supplier of arms to Saudi Arabia.In addition to the various machine guns in the Saudi armed forces, the Panavia Tornado , the Eurofighter and the MLRS as well as the now decommissioned LARS missile system with German production should be mentioned.

In 1981, Saudi Arabia bought modern AWACS air surveillance aircraft from the USA in a highly endowed arms agreement.

In the Second Gulf War , Saudi Arabia fought against Iraq , including the Battle of Chafji , which ended with a victory for the Saudi armed forces.

In July 2007, the US government announced that it would continue to upgrade the Saudi armed forces with weapons systems valued at US $ 20 billion. According to the US, the package for the Saudi armed forces includes missiles, early warning systems, weapons for the air force and navy as well as other systems to combat “non-conventional threats”. To ensure that Saudi Arabia's military does not catch up with Israel in terms of technology, US arms aid to Israel will be increased from $ 24 billion to $ 30 billion over the next ten years. US Senator Joseph Biden warned, however, that the weapons could threaten Israel's security. Bush should not try to replace “a comprehensive and coherent strategy for the region with arms sales”. But Bush stated that he trusts his "Saudi friends". For this he received an honorary medal from the Saudi king. While the opposition in the Israeli parliament criticized the deal, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the deal was "understandable" and "okay".

Alongside Israel, Iran was a potential opponent of the kingdom for a long time . In the First Gulf War, for example, Saudi Arabia supported Iraq under Saddam Hussein with immense financial resources. Nationalistic, religious and economic reasons were decisive for this. The visits of foreign ministers - especially the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in Tehran - and the visit of Iranian President Khatami in Riyadh in 2001 sealed the normalization of relations. The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Saudi Arabia for the first time on March 1, 2007 and met with King Abdullah in Riyadh . The meeting lasted eight hours. The political climate between the two governments is said to have improved and, according to the Iranian President, there is agreement on "central issues". The biggest obstacle between the two countries' deeper relations is the religious differences between Sunnis and Shiites and the fact that Saudi Arabia remains an important economic and military ally of the US in the region, while Iran sees itself as a declared opponent of the US . At the end of 2007, the Saudi government invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the Hajj , and political issues are also said to have been discussed. Both countries then made it clear that they are committed to “peaceful coexistence”. The Saudi government said that it, together with the other Gulf states, wants to avoid a military attack on Iran and to arbitrate the matter of the Iranian nuclear program . Ahmadinejad is the first Shiite leader to be invited to Hajj by Sunnis in the history of Saudi Arabia. During the unrest in Bahrain , 1,000 Saudi soldiers marched into the neighboring country to support the local government. A Saudi soldier was killed in the fighting. During the Syrian Civil War , the Saudi Arabian Air Force supported the USA in bombing positions of the terrorist organization " Islamic State in Syria. (Not in Iraq)"

Calls

Nuclear ambitions

The kingdom is one of the countries whose nuclear weapons possession or the intention to develop is considered unsecured, see: Nuclear power : Unsecured . Officially, the country has neither a civil nor a military nuclear program, but it does intend to take up a civil one.

Aid funds and investments are flowing from the Saudi Defense Ministry into the Pakistani defense industry . A participation of Saudi Arabia, which financed the Pakistani nuclear program "to a not inconsiderable part", is largely guaranteed. Unofficially, they speak of 50%. Earlier, direct contacts with Abdul Kadir Khan are proven. To what extent the Saudi armed forces have access to the Pakistani nuclear weapons is unclear. With the CSS-2 and the Ghauri , the armed forces have delivery systems that would also be suitable for nuclear warheads.

Armed forces

The soldiers of the Saudi military are mostly trained and trained by US instructors as part of the USMTM (United States Military Training Mission), which is headquartered in Taif . The US Army Corps of Engineers works on military and civil projects in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom purchases over half of its arms from the United States. Since 2003, Saudi Arabia is by far the largest customer of the US - arms industry .

Ground forces

Saudi soldier in the second Gulf War armed with a Heckler & Koch HK G3 rifle. 1990
ASTROS-2 SS-30 of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces firing a missile
Self-propelled howitzer of French origin (type AMX-30 AuF1 ) of the Saudi army, 1992

The Saudi Army ( Arabic القوات البرية الملكية السعودي, English Royal Saudi Land Force ) has 75,000 ground troops on active duty, the reserve number is 20,000. In addition there are 30,000 paramilitary troops and the royal guard with 2,000 men. Some associations are linked to the National Guard.

The commander of the ground forces is Salih al-Muhaia . Together with Chalid bin Sultan , he led the Saudi ground forces in their operations in the Second Gulf War. In May 2007 he also took part in a meeting between the Saudi defense minister, the Crown Prince Sultan , with the Turkish military and the Turkish defense minister Mehmet Vecdi Gönül in Jeddah .

The largest ground force base is the King Abdulaziz base north of Riyadh .

A contract for the purchase of NBC defense vehicles was signed with Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH .

The 20th Brigade of the Saudi Ground Forces is armed with 290 155-mm self-propelled howitzers and 570 AMX-10P armored personnel carriers. The ground forces have 702 artillery pieces , including the M109 , and around 10,050 armored vehicles (including the National Guard) as well as the Fuchs tracer tank made in Germany, around 1,370 battle tanks , including 575 M1A2S Abrams , 320 AMX-30 , 450 M60 Pat . (will be retired) and 1,130 Piranha III 8x8 infantry fighting vehicles . The tanks of the AMX series were partially upgraded with heavy air defense systems. The Army also owns 100 Al-Fahd Infantry fighting vehicles and 200 Al-Faris , armored personnel carriers for the Army and National Guard manufactured in Saudi Arabia by the Abdallah Al Faris Company for Heavy Industries . The army currently has two Al-Khalid main battle tanks ; If the response is positive, an increase of 150 pieces is expected.

In August 2007, the Turkish defense company was FNSS commissioned to 300 of the 1750 M113 of the Saudi armed forces, a combat efficiency perform. The order is worth more than US $ 200 million for the Turkish defense industry.

In October 2007, 180 T-90 main battle tanks were ordered from Russia .

On July 2, 2011, it became known that the German Federal Security Council approved the export of German Leopard 2A7 + to Saudi Arabia. According to press information from the magazine Der Spiegel , sales of 200 units are planned. The arms delivery met with considerable criticism, citing serious human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia and the crackdown on the democracy movement in neighboring Bahrain . Even within the black-yellow government coalition, this arms export is not undisputed. In January 2015, the business was stopped by the federal government on the grounds that the region was too unstable.

In Saudi Arabia, the type to be since 1969 assault rifles G3 of Heckler and Koch produced under license. The successor model HK G36 has also been produced under license since 2012 .

In December 2012, German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia.

structure

The land forces are structured as follows:

Structure of the Saudi Arabian Army. (Click to enlarge)

Air Force

A Saudi F-15 is refueled by a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker after a combat mission in the Second Gulf War .
An RSAF tornado fighter-bomber

The Saudi Air Force ( Arabic القوات الجوية الملكية السعودية al-Kuwwet al-Dschewwiya al-Mamlaka as-Sa'udiya , English Royal Saudi Air Force , RSAF), havethe second strongest air force in the Middle Eastafter the Israeli air force . They were founded in 1950 and trained with the help of the US armed forces. It has to Turaif , Guraiet and Tabuk sites close to Israel , with Riyadh, Dhahran and Hafr al Batin close to Iraq and Kuwait and Khamis Mushait a base close to Yemen .

Apache attack helicopter of the Saudi Army

The backbone of the RSAF today is the F-15 Eagle (various series, see main article) and the Panavia Tornado , the RSAF tornadoes are upgraded. The air force is able to fully monitor its own territory, the adjacent inland seas, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The RSAF uses the C-130 Hercules for logistics . A subdivision of the RSAF is the RSADF (Royal Saudi Air Defense Force), an air defense unit.

The RSAF ordered a variety of weapons in the 1990s, including, Sea-Eagle anti-ship missiles, as well as laser systems for controlling missiles and free-fall bombs . A total of 34,000 soldiers serve in the air force and air defense forces, which have a total of 725 combat aircraft and attack helicopters (including the Apache AH-64 D , belong to the land forces) and 42 transport aircraft. It also has 3,050 anti-missiles, including the MIM-104 Patriot and the MLRS artillery missile system , but also Russian, Pakistani and Chinese medium-range missiles such as B. the CSS-2 medium-range missile with a range of 2650 km or the Ghauri II (Pakistan) with a range of 2300 km. The Saudi armed forces have shown interest in the Ghauri III long-range missile, which is still under development, with a range of 4000 km and the Dong-Feng 4 with a range of 4760 km.

In 1998 the Saudi Air Force bought the Peace Shield system from the American arms manufacturer Raytheon . The system allows the RSAF to manage its airborne and ground-based resources. It contains a Central Command Operations Center , regional centers, long-range radar, and a number of synchronization projectors. The primary goal of the system is to increase the efficiency of the air force, including air defense. In 2002 the system was completely overhauled and expanded with a further 17 radar stations. In 2003, the HSN (High-Speed ​​Network, "High-Speed ​​Network") was introduced and the system was further improved to accommodate the latest and fastest network protocols (IEEE 802, Q / p Virtual LAN (VLAN), Quality of Service (QoS) standards, etc.) .) supported.

The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) from the US company Boeing is used for air surveillance . The India Daily wrote in March 2005 that there was a defense alliance between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and that Pakistan could use the Saudis' AWACS.

On August 18, 2006, the Saudi Air Force signed a preliminary contract for the purchase of 72 Eurofighter Typhoon to replace the former 110 Northrop F-5 . The price for the 72 machines is 6.39 billion euros. Analysts estimated that including the weapons as well as maintenance and training, the total order has a volume of around 20 billion euros (in purchasing power from 2009). Delivery started in September 2009.

The Storm Shadow was also ordered, the exact number has not yet been determined. The cruise missile has already been tested on the Saudi air force's tornadoes.

In April 2007 it was announced that the RSAF would be equipped with improved versions of the F-16 Fighting Falcon (this did not happen, however, additional F-15s were ordered for this in 2011), and the RSAF's AWACS is also to be updated. Israel's demand not to carry out this trade was rejected by the US ( Bush administration ).

In October 2007, the RSAF ordered 150 Mil Mi-35 attack helicopters from Russia, and negotiations were also under way with France to purchase Rafale combat aircraft that year. However, there was no purchase.

On January 6, 2008, EADS confirmed the delivery of initially three A330 MRTT tanker aircraft to RSAF. The order was expanded to include three more aircraft in July 2009.

The navigation and targeting system LANTIRN on the F-15 of the RSAF will be upgraded and supplemented with the new Sniper XR targeting pods from Lockheed-Martin from the USA. The cost of this is $ 220 million.

On January 14, 2008 it was finally announced that the RSAF 900 retrofit kits had ordered precision-guided ammunition of the Joint Direct Attack type from the USA, primarily from Boeing (US $ 120 million). This was decided between the Saudi government and the US government. The US Congress has approved the transaction.

marine

Royal Saudi Navy emblem
Saudi frigate of the Lafayette-class Al-Makkah of French production, 2005

The Saudi Navy ( Royal Saudi Navy , RSNF ) was founded 1974th The first Gulf War under King Fahd gave rise to arming the navy, mainly with the help of France and the USA. The kingdom now has one of the strongest navies in the region, serving a total of 15,500 soldiers.

The Saudi Arabian Navy currently (as of 2004)

On June 14, 2000, the RSNF bought the C3 (Command, Control, and Communications) management system from US production for 257 million US dollars. Three frigates of the Saudi Navy ( Al-Riyad class ) are equipped with heavy air defense systems; the armament includes VLS cells for Aster 15 anti-aircraft missiles (SAMs), Crotale SAMs, Exocet missiles against sea targets (SSM), two 20 mm guns and a 100mm gun. The frigates also have stealth capabilities.

Helicopters weighing up to 10 t (e.g. NH90 or Eurocopter Dauphin ) can be carried on the frigates . The ships of the RSNF are equipped with AGM-84-Harpoon anti -ship missiles with a range of up to 220 km, with Exocet MM40 and with Otomat MK2 with a range of 185 km.

National Guard

Royal Saudi Air Defense emblem
Artillery fires during an exercise

The Royal National Guard ( Royal Saudi National Gard (SANG )), also called "White Army" ( "White Army") called, supports the domestic police , z. B. in enforcing the ban on assembly in force in Saudi Arabia . In the past, the White Army was often used to quell protests and uprisings against the government or the Saud royal family. It is also used for anti-terrorism protection and protects the holy cities of Mecca and Medina . A subdivision of her protects the royal family. The National Guard currently comprises around 125,000 men, of which around 57,000 were soldiers in active service in 2005. It has over 1200 Light Armored Vehicle-25 , over 1000 V150 and over 1300 M113 . She also has Blackhawk , Bell 212 , and Kawasaki Vertol 107 transport helicopters .

Their commanding officer is Badr bin Abdul Aziz , on behalf of the Crown Prince.

RSSMF

The Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force (RSSMF) is the fifth military force in Saudi Arabia. The main weapon of the RSSMF are Chinese Dongfeng missiles, which carry a conventional warhead (2150 kg) and have a range of 2800 km. They were procured in 1987 bypassing the missile technology control regime.

Your commander is Jarallah Alaluwayt .

Anti-corruption campaign 2017

As part of an anti-corruption campaign in Saudi Arabia , the head of the National Guard, Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah , and the naval commander Admiral Abdullah al-Sultan , among others, were arrested in November 2017 . The arrested are charged with embezzling public funds amounting to at least 100 billion US dollars.

Web links

Commons : Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b National Security Analysis at www.mongabay.com Retrieved October 2, 2009 (English)
  2. ↑ Armed Forces 1985/86. The "Military Balance" of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London . Koblenz 1986, p. 226
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g World Wide Military Expenditures - 2011
  4. ↑ Costs for the military break all records Costs for the military break all records
  5. ↑ COUNTRY PROFILE: SAUDI ARABIA (PDF; 166 kB)
  6. ↑ Booming Saudi Arms Buying Leads Middle East Arms Market Booming Saudi Arms Buying Leads Middle East Arms Market
  7. ↑ Guns and Preachers - Saudi Arabia, bin Laden's homeland, takes part in the fight against terrorism - with unusual means Zeit.de: Guns and Preachers
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  11. ^ The Basic Law Of Government ( Memento of October 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
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  13. ↑ Focus Online: Saudi Arabia, No Handshakes with Israelis
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  15. ↑ Polixea Portal: Saudi Arabian Peace Initiative ( Memento from January 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ On Schmidt's attitude cf. Mainhardt Graf von Nayhauss: Helmut Schmidt. Mensch und Macher , Bergisch Gladbach 1988, p. 395 u. 401ff .; on the advance of Strauss, Frankfurter Rundschau February 21 and 26, 1985.
  17. ^ SIPRI ( Memento of October 31, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) Arms Transfer Project, 2006.
  18. ↑ welt.de: Saudi Arabia is getting new weapons from the USA
  19. ^ Spiegel.de: Bush's Middle East armaments deal outraged the federal government
  20. ^ N24: Splendor and horses, but no bed for Bush before 11 p.m. ( Memento from January 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
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  23. ↑ Iran and Saudi Arabia: Agreement on Central Issues in the Region? Deutsche Welle: Iran and Saudi Arabia: United on key issues in the region
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  25. ↑ Spiegel.de: Saudi Arabia risks the big bang
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  28. ↑ The overview 04/2007 ( table of contents ( Memento of the original from November 7th 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.der-ueberblick.de
  29. ↑ globalsecurity.org
  30. ↑ FM: Saudi Arabia ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.friederich-mielke.de
  31. ^ Report: Weapons at War 2005 ( Memento from March 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Worldpolicy: ARMS TRADE RESOURCE CENTER
  32. ^ Sultan Meets Turkish Defense Minister ( Memento of February 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  33. ↑ Brittannica: KSA
  34. ↑ Source: Army Guide
  35. ^ Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces Globalsecurity , Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces
  36. ↑ Source: Army Guide
  37. ↑ a b Source: Global Firepower ( Memento of the original dated December 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Country Statistics on Saudi Arabia. Accessed November 28, 2007.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.globalfirepower.com
  38. ↑ Source: Army-Tech.com
  39. ↑ Source: Globalsecurity: Al-Faris
  40. ↑ Pakistan Times 'Pakistan moves swiftly to self-reliance in defense needs' ( Memento June 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved on January 8, 2008
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  42. ↑ Germany sells 200 battle tanks in Saudi Arabia , accessed on July 2, 2011
  43. ↑ tagesschau.de: Israel allegedly approved “Leopard” business ( memento of July 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on July 5, 2011
  44. ^ Spiegel.de July 9, 2011: Ex-Minister Rühe calls for the tank business to be stopped
  45. ↑ FAZ.net January 25, 2015: [1]
  46. ^ Rifle production in Saudi Arabia - Heckler & Koch sued the German government , Das Erste, October 29, 2015
  47. ↑ Merkel defends partnership with Saudi Arabia
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  49. ↑ a b CNS: Saudi Arabia - Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities and Programs ( Memento of the original from May 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / cns.miis.edu
  50. ↑ Globalsecurity: Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF)
  51. ↑ India Daily ( Memento of the original from March 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.indiadaily.com
  52. ↑ Handelsblatt.com: Eurofighter fears about Saudi order
  53. ↑ Financial Times Deutschland: Saudis order 72 Eurofighters ( Memento from December 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  54. ↑ DefenseNews.com: Evidence Grows Of Rumored Saudi-MBDA Deal  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.defensenews.com  
  55. ↑ Flightglobal.com: Storm Shadow cruise missile tested for Royal Saudi Air Force Tornadoes
  56. ↑ hairetz: Gates says Washington to sell smart bombs to Saudi Arabia (April 20, 2007)
  57. ↑ Saudi Rumors of Rafale: Stalled?
  58. ↑ defenseindustrydaily.com: Saudis Confirm A330 MRTT tanker Buy
  59. ↑ EADS press release, July 27, 2009
  60. ↑ defenseindustrydaily.com: Saudis Seek Sniper ATP Supplementation for F-15S
  61. ↑ Bush wants to arm Saudis against Iran ( Memento from January 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  62. ↑ Globalsecurity: Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF)
  63. ^ Naval Technology
  64. ↑ SinoDefence "DongFeng 3 (CSS-2) Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile" ( Memento of the original from August 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , sinodefence , February 27, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sinodefence.com
  65. ↑ Around 200 people arrested in Saudi Arabia