Middle East

Saudi Arabia: The Region's New Superpower

Now the Saudis are planning to establish themselves as the Arab world's undisputed military superpower by embarking on a $150 billion defense spending spree that will see the country's Armed Forces double in size over the course of the next five years.

The new Saudi defense doctrine drawn up by senior military officers in Riyadh proposes a doubling in the size of the air force from its current strength of around 250 combat warplanes to 500. Increases of a similar scale are envisaged for the kingdom's other armed forces, with the Navy set to see the size of its surface fleet more than double, as well as acquiring its first submarine fleet. Saudi Arabia also wants to acquire a range of sophisticated ballistic missile systems, air defence systems and battle tanks, while the total number of combat ready personnel will rise above the 500,000 mark.