Saudi Eagles at BA102 Dijon-Longvic,  5 October 2009

At one o'clock in the morning Mike, Niels and I left for France. After a very quick and comfortable ride we arrived near the fence of BA102 Dijon-Longvic around 7.15h. As the base opens at nine o'clock we had some time to orientate ourselves around the airfield.

Just after nine o'clock we heard the first jet-engines starting up, and not much later the first Saudi Eagles taxied to the runway. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperated, it was very cloudy during the day. So it was very hard to take good shots of them. After half an hour, four Eagles, five Mirage 2000s and five Alpha Jets were airborne. After a mission of 90 minutes the first pair of Eagles came back. Unfortunately the wind made them change runways after the first arrivals, so not many landing shots today.

Around eleven o'clock all Eagles and Mirages were back on the ground. Not much later we had our first ID-check of the day when the Gendarmes arrived. We were surprised how kind and cooperative they were, so we had no problems at all. Thanks guys!

For the second wave of the day we decided to go to the other side of the runway. The weather in the afternoon was still very cloudy, and we even had a little rain. Only two Eagles flew in the afternoon, and again the same five Mirages. We were able to take some shots of them taking off and taxiing but the light was terrible. Around four o'clock we decided to leave the airfield and book a hotel close by. Half an hour later the clouds were gone and the sky was clear, how frustrating. At least we had some hope for the next day.

History of the Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 Eagles

The Al Quwwat al Jawwiya as Saudiya (Royal Saudi Air Force, or RSAF) initially ordered 47 F-15Cs and 15 F-15Ds under the Foreign Military Sales project Peace Sun as replacements for the BAC Lightning interceptor. The delivery of F-15s to Saudi Arabia has always been controversial, with Israel and its supporters in the US Congress being unhappy about such an advanced warplane being in the hands of a potential adversary. Although the US Congress eventually did approve the sale, a limit was imposed in 1980 which restricted Saudi Arabia to having no more than 60 Eagles in the country at any one time.

Wearing US markings, some of the early RSAF Eagles were used at Luke AFB to train a cadre of Saudi air and ground crews. The first F-15C/D aircraft entered operational service with RSAF units in August of 1981. In Saudi Arabia, F-15Cs and Ds were supplied to 5th Squadron at King Fahad AB in Taif, 6th Squadron at King Khaled AB in Khamis Mushayt, and 13th Squadron at King Abdullah Aziz AB at Dharan.

On June 5, 1984, Eagles from 6th Squadron were involved in an air battle with Iranian-piloted F-4E Phantoms which were threatening Saudi oil fields. Two of the intruders were shot down by Sparrows.

In 1989, Saudi Arabia again tried to purchase additional F-15s, and Congressional approval was sought for the delivery of 12 F-15C/Ds in 1991-92. However, political sensibilities at the time were such that the approval was not given. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 changed everything. The limit of only sixty F-15 airplanes was quickly dropped, and 24 F-15C/D Eagles were rushed to the RSAF from USAF stocks. These subsequently became the core of the newly-formed 42nd Squadron at King Abdullah Aziz AB, Dhahran.

During Desert Shield/Desert Storm, RSAF F-15s shared combat air patrols along with British Tornado F.3s and American F-15Cs. On January 24, 1991, Captain Ayehid Salah al-Shamrani of the 13th Squadron of the RSAF shot down a pair of Iraqi Mirage F1s that were flying along the Persian Gulf coast. In mid-1991, McDonnell began filling the order for twelve F-15s that had been placed by Saudi Arabia before the Gulf war began. Nine of them were for F-15Cs, 3 for F-15Ds.

Saudi Arabia also was interested in acquiring the F-15E, but the aircraft was deemed too sensitive for export. As an alternative, Saudi Arabia requested the delivery twentyfour F-15Fs, which were similar to the F-15E but without the second crew member and without some of the more advanced avionics deemed too sensitive for export. However, in 1993, the Royal Saudi Air Force was given permission to purchase 72 slightly downgraded versions of the F-15E Strike Eagle, initially designated F-15XP but now known as F-15S. A total of 72 were placed on order under Peace Sun IX. The first example took off on its maiden flight on June 19, 1995. Production was planned at a rate of one per month, with the 72nd and last F-15S being delivered in 1999. The F-15S is currently operated by 55th Squadron based at King Khalid AB, Khamis Mushait.

Source: J.Baugher