Al Quwwat al Jawwiya as Sa'udiya - Arabie Saoudite

L'Arabie Saoudite poursuit ses courses. Cette fois ci c'est pour des AIM-9X SIDEWINDER…

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of AIM-9X SIDEWINDER missiles as well as associated equipment and services.

The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $164 million.

The Government of Saudi Arabia has requested a possible sale of 250 All-Up-Round AIM-9X SIDEWINDER Missiles, 84 AIM-9X SIDEWINDER Captive Air Training Missiles (CATMs), 12 AIM-9X SIDEWINDER Dummy Air Training Missiles (DATMs), missile containers, missile modifications, test sets and support equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical data, maintenance, personnel training and training equipment, contractor engineering and technical support services, and other related
elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $164 million.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.

The sale of the AIM-9X SIDEWINDER missile system will significantly enhance the Royal Saudi Arabia Air Force's current air-to-air intercept capability. Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The prime contractor will be Raytheon Missile Systems Company of Tucson, Arizona. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require temporary travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to conduct an initial and/or follow-up Enhanced End-Use-Monitoring (EEUM) Site Survey and in-country training. Also, this program will require U.S government and contractor personnel to conduct annual, one week Program Management Reviews in Saudi Arabia.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law; it does not mean that the sale has been concluded.

source

BAE Flies First Saudi Typhoon From 2007 Deal

BAE Systems has flown the first aircraft destined for Saudi Arabia in a multibillion-pound deal signed last year. A second Saudi aircraft is due for completion in the next few weeks.

Work on the Saudi contract is gathering pace even though the British have yet to secure export approval from Washington for American equipment used in the combat aircraft. The approval remains blocked by U.S. Justice Department investigations into alleged corruption by the British in an earlier aircraft deal with the Saudis.

The first flight of the Saudi jet on Oct. 20 came just 24 hours before Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) took delivery of the first of a new generation of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft with full multirole capability.

The arrival of the two fighters at the Coningsby air base in eastern England marks the start of deliveries of some 91 Tranche 2 aircraft scheduled to be handed over to the RAF over the next few years. Twenty-four of the RAF's Tranche 2 aircraft are being diverted off the production line to meet the requirements of export customer Saudi Arabia to obtain early delivery slots of the potent multirole fighter.

The Saudis are buying 72 Typhoons in a huge deal with the British, agreed last year.

The first of those Saudi-bound aircraft flew for the first time Oct. 20 from BAE's production site at Warton in northwest England. A second aircraft destined for the Saudi Air Force is also expected to be completed this year, along with a further two RAF aircraft.

A BAE spokesman confirmed the flight had taken place.

At least eight Typhoons on the BAE production line are destined for the Saudi Air Force. Saudi pilots are already in the United Kingdom training with the RAF.

Deliveries to the Middle East oil producer are scheduled to get under way mid-2009 if the British government obtains export clearance from Washington.

Approval has been held up for months as a result of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into alleged British corruption in the earlier sale of Tornado aircraft to the Saudis.

In February, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is responsible for approving U.S. technology exports, asked the Department of Justice whether the Typhoon sale would prejudice the ongoing corruption investigation. The committee is still awaiting a reply.

The Eurofighter consortium of BAE, EADS and Finmeccanica recently completed delivery of the 148 aircraft contracted for in Tranche 1 to the British, German, Italian and Spanish air forces. Forty nine of those were for the RAF.

Later deliveries of the Tranche 1 aircraft to the British had a limited-air-to-ground capability using precision guided bombs. The new Tranche 2 aircraft with uprated computers and strengthened airframe will eventually be capable of carrying Storm Shadow cruise missiles, Paveway IV bombs and a range of other weapons.

Negotiations over the delivery of the third, and final, tranche of aircraft for the four nations is at a crucial stage. Budget difficulties in Britain and Italy could lead to the final deal for 236 aircraft being split into two batches, with some ordered now and the remainder a few years later.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3781568&c=EUR&s=AIR

L'Arabie Saoudite réceptionne ses deux premiers Eurofighter

Et notons tout de même qu'en matière d'hélicos de transport, les CH-46 saoudiens sont des Kawasaki -produits sous licence au Japon-, et non des purs Boeing

Produits sous licence ou purs Boeing, la différence est ténue tout de même.

Ciders a écrit

Et notons tout de même qu'en matière d'hélicos de transport, les CH-46 saoudiens sont des Kawasaki -produits sous licence au Japon-, et non des purs Boeing

Produits sous licence ou purs Boeing, la différence est ténue tout de même.

Tu peux le dire, je suis un chipoteur …

Néanmoins, les Saoudiens achètent leur matériel à pas mal de pays.

Après les frégates françaises, peut-être le Rafale un de ces quatre ?

Avec la volonté d'expansion de l'Iran, les saoudiens devraient logiquement accélérer la course aux armements, conventionnels ou non d'ailleurs.

Comme ce pays est secret, difficile de dire où ils en sont ; mais j'avais lu dans "Marine" que le pays avait plusieurs sites secrets pour développer tranquillement le projet d'acquisition de l'arme atomique.

Les médias ne parlent plus beaucoup du nucléaire iranien, mais du côté de Ryad gageons que ce problème est dans tous les esprits ! Et j'imagine mal pour ma part, le berceau de l'Islam et résidence principale des Sunnites Wahhabites ne pas être doté de l'arme nucléaire lorsque les Iraniens le seront.


Et pour rebondir sur mon post précédent, je te confirme que les Saoudiens lorgnent sur le V-22 Osprey pour remplacer à terme leurs CH-46. Mon poulain répond donc à une demande saoudienne (dernière source : "Marine", 2008, je scannerais ça dès que j'aurais le temps).

Les saoudiens veulent acheter "au moins" 2 escadrons de F-15SE (Silent Eagle)

…

Les Blackhawk de l'armée de terre saoudienne bientôt modernisés au standard UH-60L

Upgrade des F-15

Le Ministère de l'Intérieur saoudien décide l'achat de 3 S-70i et 12 S-70D, et de poser une option sur respectivement 12 et 8 exemplaires supplémentaires

Comme l'annonce AFM, c'est le premier achat de S-70i, la version du Blackhawk fabriquée en Pologne.

http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/news91731.html

Les saoudiens s´intéressent aux avions espions.

Ils vont acheter des SR-71 ?

Blague à part, ça prouve que leur environnement immédiat les inquiète. Et je les comprends. Quels modèles les intéresse, des drones ?

A priori, ce serait aussi pour sécuriser leur territoire. Ils craignent les rébellions et les infiltrations ( ça barde au sud d'ailleurs en ce moment, avec les Houthis yéménites ). Ils seraient intéressés par le Beechcraft King Air 350 modifié ( celui du Projet Liberté, et qui est engagé en Afstan ).

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?ID=184146

Les USA veulent vendre 84 F-15 (quelle version?) aux Saoudiens sur une période de 10 ans. Mais sans systèmes d´armes à longue portée, car Israël a émis des objections sur ce point. Il est écrit que ces F-15 "avancés" ne seront pas aussi "avancés" que ceux utilisés par l´USAF. Coût du deal: 30 milliards de dollars.

Ça serait l'occasion de refourguer leur Silent Eagle, tiens !
Surtout qu'ils en ont a priori les moyens.