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Royal Saudi Air Defence Force
Military unit
The Royal Saudi Air Defence Force (RSADF) (Arabic: قُوَّات الدِفَاع الجوّي المَلكِيَّ السُّعُودِي) is the aerial defence service branch of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF). It is fourth of the five service branches of the MOD. It has its HQ in Riyadh, where there is also an underground command facility that co-ordinates the kingdom's advanced 'Peace Shield' radar and air defence system, with an estimated 16,000 active duty military personnel in 2025. Along with the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), it has the responsibility for securing the skies of Saudi Arabia.
Overview
Towards the end of the 1970s, a paradigm shift occurred with the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF), with the making of the RSAD Corps as a separate and equivalent service, equal to the Army, Navy, and Air Force. It is no longer subordinate to the Royal Saudi Land Forces (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.
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.
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 defence missile system.
Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot air defence missile system
Oerlikon Contraves Skyguard 35mm Twin Cannon Short Range air defence system
Lockheed Martin THAAD anti-ballistic missile defence system
LIG Nex1 KM-SAM
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