Exercise Saudi Sword

A historical milestone was reached during August 2007 when the first ever deployment of Royal Saudi Air Force Tornado fighter aircraft outside their own borders took place. The contingent, eight aircraft in total, flew to RAF Lossiemouth in three legs. This base is situated in Scotland and is home to four Royal Air Force Tornado squadrons. Host for these three weeks was 617 squadron, better known as the famous "Dambusters".

The Saudi unit which deployed was 75 suadron, based at King Abdul Aziz Air Base near the city of Dhahran. The unit was surrected in 1997 and was designated for the low level interdiction role.

Deploying to Scotland meant operating in a totally different environment than the flat and warm desert at home. Not being familiar with trees, hills and clouds was the reason that the Saudi's were only flying VMC (Visual Metrological Conditions). Part of the exercise was the use of bombing ranges and of course some sightseeing flying with the host squadron.

The squadron deployed around two hundred men of whom around thirty were pilots, the rest was support personnel. During their deployment the Saudi's flew three missions a day with the last one just around dinner time. The deployment would last until around the 10th of September after which the whole pack would return to Saudi Arabia with much lessons learnt and way better weather!