Green Shield 2

In 2007 the first part of exercise Green Shield took place in Saudia Arabia when Rafales from EC01.007 (based at Saint Dizier Air Base, France) deployed to Taif Air Base in Saudi Arabia. During the first two weeks of October 2009 exercise Green Shield 2 took place at Dijon Air Base in Eastern France. It was a historical deployment when figher jets from the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) deployed to mainland Europe for the first time. Six F-15 Eagles arrived at Dijon Air Base on the first of October, while a KE-3A AWACS deployed to Istres Air Base in southern France. Technical and support crew where flown in by a few C-130s.

This joint exercise with the France Air Force aims at reinforcing the cooperation between the two countries and exchange working methods. Green Shield 2 is one of the most sophisticated military training carried out by the RSAF outside its kingdom. During the first few days of the exercise local training flights where flown to get familiarized with the European weather and French airspace. Towards the end of the exercise, missions were intensified and more complex with the participation of aircraft from other bases and ground forces involved in the scenarios.

During the final week Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, visited the exercise. He was received by senior French air officers, Saudi diplomatic officials and military officers. The prince was briefed on the progress of the exercise by RSAF personnel involved in the exercise and hailed the hospitality offered by the French military.