JEDDAH, 8 November 2005 — Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, has announced plans to strengthen the Kingdom’s air force and for it to become No. 1 in the Middle East.
Addressing officers at King Faisal Airbase in Tabuk on Sunday, Prince Sultan said the air force would be provided with advanced aircraft and equipment, replacing old ones.
“Our air force fleet will become the strongest in the Middle East,” the crown prince was quoted as telling the officers in Tabuk before leaving for Dhahran on Sunday night.
Prince Sultan called upon the air force, however, to improve its combat capabilities through training. “You are our real arms and ammunition, because iron without men is useless,” he added.
Later, speaking at an Eid celebration organized by the armed forces in Tabuk, he emphasized the crucial role played by the air defense force.
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, as well as every citizen in the country, holds you in high esteem and appreciates your services,” Prince Sultan told the officers.
Last month, a Saudi Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed that Britain had expressed a desire to sell Typhoon fighter planes to the Kingdom.
“There are no secret negotiations between the two countries on the deal to sell the Typhoon planes,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the spokesman as saying. “But the British side has openly expressed a desire to supply Saudi Arabia with these planes, like any of the many friendly countries which produce sophisticated weapons systems,” the official said.
The spokesman said the Saudi government did not ask for, nor receive, any official or unofficial offer from the British side on this subject.
“Saudi Arabia has the right to defend its territory by developing its own weapons systems or acquiring new systems from any country in the world,” he said.
The official also stressed that the Kingdom’s arms purchases were the result of “operational needs, and not in lieu of any political deals with these countries.”
The Saudi official’s statement followed a report carried by the British newspaper The Guardian, which said Britain had been in secret discussions with Saudi Arabia over an arms deal worth up to 40 billion pounds.
The Guardian said British Defense Minister John Reid sought to persuade Crown Prince Sultan to re-equip the Kingdom’s air force with the Typhoon, which is largely manufactured by British defense and aerospace giant BAE Systems.
Sultan To Visit Egypt
Prince Sultan is scheduled to visit Egypt next week at the invitation of President Hosni Mubarak.
During the prince’s three-day visit, the leaders will discuss the latest regional developments following a UN resolution calling for Syrian cooperation in the UN probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
