A Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA, assigned to the Royal Saudi Air Force Weapons School, lands in preparation of Red Flag-Nellis 22-2 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, March 1, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by William R. Lewis)
On November 7, the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that an F-15S of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) had crashed in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.
In a statement shared by the Saudi Press Agency, Brigadier General Turki Al-Malki, a spokesman for the MoD, said that the multirole fighter jet fell as a result of a “technical malfunction” during a routine training mission over the training ground of King Abdulaziz Air Base.
“The aircrew, consisting of two officers, have survived the incident after using the ejector seat. No injuries, nor ground damage were recorded,” the spokesman said, adding that the ministry has launched an investigation into the incident.
The fighter jet was likely from the RSAF’s 92nd Squadron, the only formation at King Abdulaziz Air Base that operates the F-15S. The same base hosts the 13th Squadron that operates the F-15C as well as the 75th and 83th Squadrons, which operate Panavia Tornado multirole fighter jets.
King Abdulaziz Air Base provides air defense, tactical and strategic support for the Eastern Province and nearby regions, as well as providing aviation related technical training to RSAF personnel.
More than 200 F-15 multirole fighter jets of the C, S and SA variants are known to be in service with the RSAF. The large air force also operates around 20 F-15Ds as conversion trainers.
This was not likely the first F-15 fighter jet of the RSAF to be lost in a crash this year. On August 25, an F-15C/D reportedly crashed near King Fahad Air Base near Taif city in the western province of Makkah. A video of the crash surfaced online on November 3. However, the Saudi MoD is yet to officially confirm the incident.