Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday (March 31st) laid the foundation stone for a new Air War Centre during a visit to King Abdulaziz Air Base in the Eastern Province, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The prince, who also serves as Minister of Defence, was briefed on the centre and its advanced capabilities to train air and technical crews in a setting that simulates modern warfare.
The centre will contribute to the development and modernisation of combat plans against potential threats, developing and evaluating air force capabilities, standardising combat concepts and testing and evaluating systems and weapons.
It will support the combat readiness of the kingdom’s Air Force, carry out joint exercises with its allies, and offer training in an advanced electronic warfare environment.
The centre consists of a headquarters building, hangars for aircraft maintenance, technical staff offices, a ground equipment warehouse, service facilities and covered parking for 24 planes, among other facilities.
Also on Sunday, the Crown Prince launched the first Hawk training aircraft assembled and partially manufactured by Saudis and was briefed on the assembly, manufacturing and testing stages.
A team of Saudis, who have been trained by international experts over two years, are working on the assembly of a total of 22 Hawk aircraft.
