T
HE TORNADO INTERDICTOR
Strike (IDS) variant and its less
proliic Air Defence Variant
(ADV) derivative were both
exported to Saudi Arabia,
although the latter was retired
by August 2006. As Saudi Arabia faced a
growing challenge to its regional
hegemony, and even a direct military
threat from Iran, it prompted a major
re-armament program. The Royal Saudi
Air Force (RSAF) needed to establish
enhanced air-to-ground capabilities,
plus a meaningful interdiction and
long-range attack capability.
Ordinarily, Saudi Arabia would have
been expected to turn to the US for
suitable aircraft, but early exports of
F-15C/D Eagles to the Gulf nation had
been subject to a US Congress mandatory
limit of 60 aircraft. It was explicitly laid
down that the Eagles would be defensive,
with limits on where they could be based
and what weapons they could carry, due
largely to Israeli sensitivities.
There was a growing realization that the
country would need to diversify the
sources of its new aircraft, and that it
would have to turn elsewhere to obtain a
genuine ofensive strike/attack capability.It was perhaps inevitable, therefore,
that it would look to the UK for a solution,
following the success of the original
British Aircraft Corporation defense
packages that saw Hunters, Lightnings,
Strikemasters, radars and surface-to-air
missiles being exported to the oil-rich
country. Export of the Tornado became
possible after West Germany lifted its
objections to sales outside of NATO,
and the Financial Times reported Saudi
Arabian ‘interest’ in July 1984, perhaps
having been tipped of about an RSAF
evaluation of the Tornado GR1 at RAF
Honington, Sufolk, that same year.
British Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher lobbied hard on behalf of
the Tornado deal, meeting with Prince
Bandar and later King Fahd. In August
1984, the king announced his decision to
buy Tornados.
On September 26, 1985, the UK
and Saudi defense ministers signed a
memorandum of understanding for
the Al Yamamah (Dove) program, the
irst phase of which would see Saudi
Arabia procuring 48 Tornado IDS aircraft
including six IDS(R) reconnaissance
variants equivalent to the RAF GR1A,
and 14 IDS(T) trainers with dual controls.A quartet of Royal
Saudi Air Force
Tornado IDS in
the standard
gray scheme that
is now applied
almost fleet-wide.
RSAF/Fahad RihanThese were accompanied by 24 Tornado
F3 ighters (among them six twin-stickers)
as well as 30 Pilatus PC-9 trainers and 30
Hawks, with spares, weapons, radar, and a
pilot training package. RSAF pilots began
training with a newly formed Royal Saudi
Training Flight within the Tri-national
Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE) at
RAF Cottesmore on October 11, 1985.Into service
Along with a capable aircraft came
a suite of associated weaponry. This
included JP233 runway denial munitions28 December 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net