On behalf of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, the Chief of General Staff General Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili patronized in Riyadh the graduation ceremony of the 98th batch of King Faisal Air Academy.

The ceremony took into account all precautionary measures for COVID-19, and it was held in the presence of Lt. General Prince Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Commander of Saudi Royal Air Forces.

The ceremony was concluded by handing over the graduates their awards and certificates, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Founded on 10 January 1968, by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Defense and Aviation, King Faisal Air Academy (KFAA) was officially opened on 20 May 1970 under the auspices of King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz.

The King Faisal Air Academy includes programs and training for fighter pilots, weapon directors, air traffic controllers, and information technology training.

The college has an internal and external scholarship system to study other aviation sciences such as aviation engineering, accounting and law.

Training lasts for twenty-seven months, with bachelor’s degrees in aeronautical sciences awarded to aircrew and engineering degrees awarded to technical specialties.

Programs include fighter pilot, weapon director, air traffic controller, and information technology training. Because most of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s equipment is made by the United Kingdom and the United States instruction is in English, and much of the faculty is British.

Unlike other officer training schools, graduates of KFAA are trained as both pilots and officers simultaneously and are fully qualified for both flight and command duties upon graduation. Some graduates go on to further training with the United States Air Force at Columbus Air Force Base.