Saudi Arabian Army

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saudi Arabian Army الجيش العربي السعودي
Military manpower
Conscription age	18 years of age
Availability	males age 18-49: 7,648,999
Active troops	199,500 (Ranked 23th)
Military expenditures
USD figure	$31.255 billion (2006)

A column of M-113 APCs and other military vehicles of the Royal Saudi Land Force travels along a channel cleared of mines during Operation Desert Storm. , Kuwait - 1 March 1991.

The 20th Brigade of the Royal Saudi Land Force displays a 155mm GCT self-propelled gun, left, and AMX-10P infantry combat vehicles

Saudi Arabian Army (Arabic: الجيش العربي السعودي), also called Royal Saudi Land Force (Arabic: القوات البرية الملكية السعودية). Is a branch of the Saudi Armed Forces. The total number of active troops is around 75,000, and there are another 100,000 land forces personnel in the Saudi Arabian National Guard.^[1] The army is capable of conducting air assault operations with a lift capability of up to 5 battalions at a time, both day and night.^{[citation needed]}

The current Chief of the Saudi General Staff is Field Marshal Saleh Al-Muhaya.

[edit] History

1902 is considered to be the birth year of the Saudi Army, when 63 men led by King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud supported by the Kuwaiti Prince Mubarak Al-Sabah, who had armed the men with weapons and horses, conquered the city of Riyadh. During World War I, the British supported King Abdulaziz's army in his fight against the Ottoman Empires Army. Britain remained the major ally of the Saudis until the Saudi conquest of the Hejaz region in 1935. After the discovery of oil and the meeting between King Ibn Saud and the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 14th, 1945, the Americans became the new major ally of House of Saud.

Other events that led to an expansion of the Saudi Army were the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, the fall of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the subsequent fears of possible Shia's actions and in the last years the first Gulf War in 1990. In the year 2000, Saudi Arabia's government spent billions of dollars to expand the Saudi Forces including the Saudi Army.^{[citation needed]}

Wars involving Saudi Army:

• The Unification of Saudi Arabia (1902-1933).
• 1948 Arab-Israeli War more than 3000 Saudi Troops participated in combat in Palestine.
• 1967 RSLF deployed over 20000 troops in Jordan.
• 1969 Al-Wadiah War. South Yemeni Forces invaded Al-Wadiah , a Saudi Town , but later were defeated by the Saudi Army.
• 1973 during the Yom Kippur War Saudi Arabia masterminded the 1973 Oil Crisis and sent over 3,000 Saudi soldiers from the troops in Jordan to fight on the Syrian frontline.
• Gulf War (1990-1991) Together with the allied forces, Saudi Armed Forces and SANG took a major part in the Battle of Khafji and the Liberation of Kuwait.

[edit] Structure

The combat strength of the Saudi Army consists of 4 armored brigades, 17 mechanized infantry brigades, three light motorized rifle brigades, and one airborne brigade. It also has five independent artillery brigades and an aviation command. The Saudi Army deployed the 12th Armored Brigade and 6th Mechanized Brigade at King Faisal Military City in the Tabuk area. It deployed the 4th Armored Brigade, and 11th Mechanized Brigade at King Abdul Aziz Military City in the Khamis Mushayt area. It deployed the 20th Mechanized Brigade and 8th Mechanized Brigade at King Khalid Military City near Hafr al Batin. The 10th Mechanized Brigade is deployed at Sharawrah, which is near the border with Yemen and about 150 kilometers from Zamak.^[2]

Despite the addition of a number of units and increased mobility achieved during the 1970s and 1980s, the army's personnel complement has expanded only moderately since a major buildup was launched in the late 1960s. The army has been chronically understrength, in the case of some units by an estimated 30 to 50 percent. These shortages have been aggravated by a relaxed policy that permitted considerable absenteeism and by a serious problem of retaining experienced technicians and noncommissioned officers (NCOs). The continued existence of a separate national guard also limited the pool of potential army recruits.^[3]

Armor

• 4th (King Fah’d) Armored Brigade
• 8th Armored Brigade
• 12th Armored Brigade
• 45th Armored Brigade

the four armored brigades, 17 mechanized

A typical Saudi armored brigade has an armored reconnaissance company, three tank battalions with 42 tanks each, two tank companies with 30 tanks, three tank troops with 12 tanks, a mechanized infantry battalion with 54 AIFVs/ APCs, and an artillery battalion with 18 self-propelled guns. It also has an army aviation company, an engineer company, a logistic battalion, a field workshop, and a medical company.^[4]

Mechanized

• 6th Mechanized Brigade
• 8th Mechanized Brigade
• 10th Mechanized Brigade
• 11th Mechanized Brigade
• 20th Mechanized Brigade
• Imam Muhammad bin Saud Mechanized Brigade (IMBS)(SANG)
• Prince Saad Abdulrahman Mechanized Brigade (PSAR) (SANG)
• Turki Mechanized Brigade was reported to be in formation in 2002 (SANG)
• King Khalid Light Infantry Brigade’s strength is unknown (SANG)
• King Abdulaziz Mechanized Brigade, was in information in 2002 still unknown (SANG)
• Prince Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Saud Light Infantry Brigade (SANG)
• One light infantry brigade based in Jeddah (SANG)
• One light infantry brigade based in Medina ( SANG )
• Omar bin Kattab light infantry brigade based in Taif( SANG )

• 17th Mechanized Brigade
• 18th Mechanized Brigade
• 19th Mechanized Brigade

Five mechanized brigades consists of one tank battalion, three mechanized infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, and a support battalion.

A typical Saudi mechanized brigade has an armored reconnaissance company, one tank battalion with 37-42, three mechanized infantry battalion with 54 AIFVs/APCs each, two infantry companies with a total of 33 APCs, three infantry platoons with a total of 12 APCs, and an artillery battalion with 18 self-propelled guns. It also has an army aviation company, an engineer company, a logistic battalion, a field workshop, and a medical company. It has 24 anti-tank guided weapons launchers and four mortar sections with a total of eight 81mm mortars.^[4]

Infantry

• unknown number of infantry brigades
  • 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade
    • 5th Combined Arms Battalion
    • 6th Combined Arms Battalion
    • 7th Combined Arms Battalion
    • 8th Combined Arms Battalion
  • 10th Infantry Brigade

Each infantry brigade consists of three motorized battalions, an artillery battalion, and a support battalion.

Airborne

• The Airborne Brigade
  • 4th Airborne Battalion
  • 5th Airborne Battalion

The Airborne Brigade is normally deployed near Tabuk. The Airborne Brigade has two parachute battalions and three Special Forces companies. The three light motorized brigades include the 17th, 18th, and 19th. Saudi Arabia is expanding its Special Forces and improving their equipment and training to help deal with the threat of terrorism. The Special Forces have been turned into independent fighting units to help deal with terrorists, and report directly to Prince Sultan..

Artillery Battalions

• five artillery battalions
  • 14th FA (Towed, 155) Battalion
  • 15th FA (MLRS) Battalion
  • 18th Missile (MLRS) Battalion

The separate Royal Guard Regiment consists of three light infantry battalions.

Saudi Arabian Army Structure (click to enlarge).

[edit] Ranks

Officers (up) Enlisted (down)

[edit] Main equipment

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

The Saudi government spends billions of dollars to arm the military forces and usually buys the military equipment from the main allies US and UK.

• (Anti-Air systems belong to Air Defense Force)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• CIA World Factbook
• Pakistani tanks deal
• 2006 Military spending of Saudi Forces
• latest French tanks deal

[edit] See also

• Military of Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Arabian National Guard
• King Khalid Military City
• Saudi Arabia