The Royal Saudi Air Force , is the aviation

Military aviation

Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...

 branch of the Saudi Arabian armed forces

Military of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's armed forces are mainly the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. The Ministry also has responsibility for the construction of civilian airports as well as military bases, and for Meteorology departments...

. The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive capability. The RSAF maintains the third largest fleet of F-15s after the JASDF and the USAF.

The backbone of the RSAF is currently the Boeing F-15 Eagle

F-15 Eagle

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...

, with the Panavia Tornado

Panavia Tornado

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...

 also forming a major component. The Tornado and many other aircraft were delivered under the Al Yamamah contracts with British Aerospace

British Aerospace

British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...

 (now BAE Systems

BAE Systems

BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...

).