Men of the Saudi Arabian National Guard. (Photo : SANG)
The Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), considered one of the best trained and best equipped armies in the world, is acquiring attack and troop carrying helicopters that boost its combat capabilities to better protect Saudi Arabia's Royal Family.
SANG had no helicopters whatsoever at the start of 2015 and was purely an infantry and mechanized force dedicated to protecting the Saudi royal family against threats such as a coup d'etat and civil unrest.
Since then, however, SANG has moved towards building a rotary-wing force equipped with the latest versions of the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter; the Boeing AH-6i light helicopter gunship and the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk medium-lift utility helicopter.
SANG's modernization is again being assisted by the United States. The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama is in charge of giving SANG rotary wings. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Frank Muth, the Saudi Arabian National Guard modernization program manager, said he had received the approval of the center to transition SANG to operate the AH-64E and UH-60M.
Gen. Muth said SANG now has 36 helicopters and intends to operate a fleet of 156 aircraft. SANG's rotary wing inventory includes 12 AH-64Es; 24 UH-60Ms and 12 AH-6is. Gen. Muth no other country in the world operates the AH-6is, which is the export version of the original AH-6.
"This is a test case, a proof of principle, that they are going to look at for six months," said Gen. Muth.
The U.S. also provides training, assistance and modernization efforts for the SANG will develop a training program that covers the fleet. It is training all the personnel (pilots, ground crew and fire fighters, for example) needed to operate and maintain these modern military helicopters
The modernization of SANG attack capability is part of Saudi Arabia's 2030 modernization plan. The plan will enable Saudi Arabia to move away from a petroleum-based economy.
