Saudi air force commander reveals merger with air defence forces

The RSADF operates most of the kingdom's ground-based air-defence systems and is being merged into the new Royal Saudi Air and Space Force. (Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

The Saudi Royal Air Force (RSAF) and Saudi Royal Air Defence Forces (RSADF) have been undergoing a merger for more than five years, RSAF commander Lieutenant General Prince Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz al-Saud revealed in an interview published in the latest issue of the Ministry of Defence's Al-Difaa quarterly magazine.

Prince Turki said work on unifying the two military branches began after the Royal Saudi Air and Space Forces (RSASF) were formally established on 9 February 2021 and is now nearing completion.

He said the merger “will achieve, God willing, a major strategic and operational leap by integrating the air force and air defence forces to bridge operational gaps and develop capabilities in the space domain”.

The process “not only integrates the structure of the two forces, but also includes integrating doctrines and concepts, enabling the commander to read the orbital picture as effectively as the air picture, and to achieve integration in the operational environment of the air and space domains,” he said.

“Success today is no longer limited to absolute air dominance, but rather to the ability to integrate and harmonise all military forces with cyber, electronic, and even space capabilities,” he added. “We are moving from the stage of fighting on the battlefield to managing the battlefield.”

Noting that the merger is overseen by an executive team tasked with ensuring that combat readiness and morale remain unaffected, he stressed that there would not be a reduction in personnel.