The Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF), also known as the Royal Saudi Armed Forces, is part of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It consists of the Royal Saudi Army, the Royal Saudi Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Royal Saudi Air Defense, and the Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force. The King of Saudi Arabia is the Supreme commander-in-chief of all the Military Forces and forms military policy with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior. The five Armed Forces are among eight military forces of Saudi Arabia, with the others including the Royal Saudi National Guard, the Royal Saudi Guard Regiment and the Royal Saudi Border Guards.
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. The current form of the metropolis emerged as an offshoot of the eponymous walled town following the dismantling of its defensive fortifications in the 1950s, after which the city underwent several phases of expansion and urbanization.
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war.
The House of Al Saud is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman, the modern founder of Saudi Arabia. It forms a subtribe of the larger prominent ancient Banu Hanifa tribe of Arabia, from which well known 7th century Arabian theologist Maslama ibn Ḥabīb originates. The most influential position of the royal family is the King of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarch. The family in total is estimated to comprise 15,000 members; however, the majority of power, influence and wealth is possessed by a group of about 2,000 of them. Some estimates of the royal family's wealth measure their net worth at $1.4 trillion. This figure includes the market capitalization of Saudi Aramco, the state oil and gas company, and its vast assets in fossil fuel reserves, making them the wealthiest family in the world and the wealthiest in recorded history.
The MICA is a French anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system manufactured by MBDA France. Its name is an abbreviation of Missile d'Interception, de Combat et d'Auto-défense. It is intended for use both by air platforms as individual missiles as well as ground units and ships, which can be equipped with the rapid fire MICA Vertical Launch System. It is fitted with a thrust vector control (TVC) system. It was developed from 1982 onward by Matra. The first trials occurred in 1991, and the missile was commissioned in 1996 to equip the Rafale and Mirage 2000. It is a replacement for both the Super 530 in the interception role and the Magic II in the dogfighting role.
Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company that builds vessels for military and civil sectors. It was established in 2005 following the segregation of the military assets of the IZAR Group. The company designs, builds, and supports various types of surface vessels, submarines, and systems. Navantia is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world. The company is also expanding into markets such as renewable energy, the offshore industry, and naval services.
The SIGMA class is a Dutch-built family of modular naval vessels, of either corvette or frigate size, designed by Damen Group.
The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship and land-attack missile developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA).
The Scorpène-class submarines are a class of diesel-electric attack submarines jointly developed by the French Naval Group and the Spanish company Navantia. It features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP). It is now marketed as the Scorpène 2000.
The Royal Saudi Navy or Royal Saudi Naval Forces, is the maritime arm of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and one of the five service branches of the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia. Its primary role is monitoring and defending the Saudi territorial waters against military or economic intrusion, and participating in international naval alliances.
Saudi Arabia is the second biggest tourist destination in the Middle East with over 16 million visiting in 2017. Although most tourism in Saudi Arabia still largely involves religious pilgrimages, there is growth in the leisure tourism sector. As the tourism sector has been largely boosted lately, the sector is expected to a significant industry for Saudi Arabia, reducing its dependence on oil revenues. This is proved as tourism sector is expected to generate $25 billion in 2019. Potential tourist areas include the Hijaz and Sarawat Mountains, Red Sea diving and a number of ancient ruins.
Sport in Saudi Arabia is an important part of Saudi Arabian culture and the country participates in many international sporting competitions along with multiple esport competitions. Football is a particularly popular sport and Saudi Arabia has won the Asian Cup on three occasions, while other sports such as cricket and basketball are also widely followed.
The S-80 Plus class is a Spanish class of four submarines being built by the state-owned Spanish company Navantia at its Cartagena shipyard for the Spanish Navy. In common with other contemporary submarines, they feature air-independent propulsion.
The Guaicamacuto-class patrol boats is a class of offshore patrol vessels or BVL in Venezuelan Navy service for patrol duty in economic exclusive zone. A contract for four BVLs and four POVZEE was signed together on 25 November 2005. Since 2014 the Spanish Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office has been investigating the €42m "commission" paid to some of those involved.
Iran–Sudan relations refers to diplomatic, economic and military relations between Sudan and Iran. For nearly three decades, Iran and Sudan enjoyed a close relationship.
The F110 class, also known as the Bonifaz class, are a multi-purpose, anti-submarine class of Aegis combat system-fitted heavy frigates under construction for the Spanish Navy. The project is being co-developed by the Spanish Ministry of Defence and the state-owned company Navantia. The construction of the first unit (Bonifaz) started in April 2022. Deliveries are scheduled to start in about 2025.
SAMI is a state-owned defense company launched in May 2017 by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The Avante 2200 is a corvette design by the Navantia shipyard of Spain. Navantia has developed an Avante family of ships with different sizes, and adapted to different missions. They share the same design standard.
The Modular and Multirole Patrol Corvette (MMPC), previously named European Patrol Corvette (EPC), is a Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) project that was adopted by the European Council on 12 November 2019. The objective is to design and develop a new class of surface combatants. The project originally involved Italy and France, the former being the coordinator. The two countries would soon be joined by Greece as well as Spain, and gradually, by several other European countries such as Denmark, Norway and Romania.
Al Jubail (828) is an Al Jubail-class corvette of the Royal Saudi Navy.
Saudi Arabia