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Saudi Arabian Army
Found in: Military of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian Army , also called Royal Saudi Land Force . 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. 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.
The current Chief of the Saudi General Staff is Field Marshal Saleh Al-Muhaya.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Armor
4th (King Fahd) 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.
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 Brigades 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.
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 BrigadeEach infantry brigade consists of three motorized battalions, an artillery battalion, and a support battalion.
Airborne
The Airborne Brigade
*4th Airborne Battalion
*5th Airborne BattalionThe 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 Battalion
*15th FA (MLRS) Battalion
*18th Missile (MLRS) Battalion
The separate Royal Guard Regiment consists of three light infantry battalions.
Ranks
Officers (up) Enlisted (down)
Main equipment
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)
External links
[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.htmlMilitary CIA World Factbook]
2006 Military spending of Saudi Forces
See also
Military of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian National Guard
King Khalid Military City
Saudi Arabia
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Saudi Arabian Army