The joint air exercise Desert Flag 2025 has commenced at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will continue for several weeks.
The exercise, with participants including the host nation, Qatar, Bahrain, Turkiye, the US, France, South Korea, the UK, Australia, India, and Germany, will feature several different air maneuvers, most notably defensive and offensive counter-air operations, close air support operations, and combat search and rescue operations.
Last week, the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) Commander Lt. General Prince Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz (photo) saw off the Saudi team participating in the drill at King Faisal Air Base in the northern sector.
Prince Turki was briefed by the commander of the air force team on the readiness of the team and equipment, met members of the team, and urged them to exercise the utmost effort to fully benefit from the exercise, to honor the RSAF, and to maintain the air force’s distinction in all forums, highlighting the importance of commitment to safety standards.
The RSAF Commander said that Desert Flag was one of the important exercises in the region, adding that the RSAF would participate in the exercise with the F-15SA aircraft, along with all its air, technical and support crews, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Prince Turki said that participation would enable the exchange of military experience, boost readiness and combat efficiency, and strengthen relations with the participating forces.The Royal Saudi Air Forces, the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces are participating in this exercise.
For his part, Commander of the Saudi Air Force contingent, Lieutenant Colonel Pilot Faisal Al-Marwani, stated Tuesday that preparations for the exercise were carried out with complete professionalism and in accordance with the safety standards approved for military exercises.
Al-Marwani noted that the Saudi Air Force’s deployment of six F-15C fighters with full crews aims to exchange military expertise in realistic warfare scenarios, enhance combat readiness, and strengthen international partnerships.
Members of the Royal Saudi Air Force also recently participated in the annual medium-scale exercise INIOCHOS 2024 air drill in Greece.
INIOCHOS 2024 is one of the largest military exercises on the European continent. The RSAF participated with six Typhoon aircraft and their air, technical and support crews.
The drill included offensive, defensive and strategic counterair operations, as well as counterland and maritime operations, along with practice in combat search-and-rescue operations.
