Saudi Arabian Armed Forces
| Royal Arabian Army | |
|---|---|
| Arabic: القُوَّاتُ البَرِّيَّةُ المَلَكِيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة | |
.png)
Seal
|
|
| Active | 1745 |
| Country |
 Saudi Arabia |
| Allegiance | Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques |
| Branch | Royal Armed Forces (As of Jan 1902) |
| Type | Army |
| Role | Ground-based warfare |
| Size | 300,000+ full-time personnel 325,000 reserve and National Guard 625,000+ total personnel (2012 est.) |
| Part of | |
| Headquarters | King Rd, Al Wazarat, Riyadh |
| Anniversaries | January 13; (115 years ago) |
| Decorations |  |
| Website | Official Website |
| Commanders | |
| Minister of Defense | Crown Prince Mohammad Al Saud |
| Chief of Joint Staff | General Abdul Rahman Al Banyan |
|
|
Lt. General Prince Fahd Al Saud |
| Insignia | |
 Battle flag |
 |
The Royal Saudi Land Forces (KSA) (Arabic: القُوَّاتُ البَرِّيَّةُ المَلَكِيَّة السُّـعُودِيَّة), also called Saudi Arabian Army (Arabic: الجَيْشُ العَرَبيّ السُّـعُودِيَّ Al-Jai? al-?Arab?yat al-Su??d?yah), are the largest branch of the Saudi Arabia Armed Forces. The Saudi Arabia Ground Armed Forces (SAAF) divide its manpower between two main entities, the National Guard (SANG) and the Army [RSLF]. The Chief of the Saudi General Staff until 2011 was Field Marshal Saleh Al-Muhaya.
The modern Saudi Army has its roots in the first Saudi State, which was formed as early as 1745, and is considered to be the birth year of the Saudi Army. As of 13 January 1902 was founded as the Royal Saudi Land Forces, and is the oldest branch of the KSA military.
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.
Fahad Al-Eissa, Director general of the defense minister’s office stated that “We are the fourth-largest military spender in the world, yet when it comes to the quality of our arms, we are barely in the top 20,”. Mohammad bin Salman was appointed Defense Minister to correct these defficiencies.
The combat strength of the Saudi Army consists of 4 Armoured, 5 Mechanized, 2 Light Infantry (1 Royal Guards, 1 Special Forces) Brigades. The Saudi Army deployed the 12th Armoured Brigade and 6th Mechanized Brigade at King Faisal Military City in the Tabuk area. It deployed the 4th Armoured 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.
...
Wikipedia