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Prince Sultan Air Base | |||||||||
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قاعدة الأمير سلطان الجوية | |||||||||
| Al-Kharj,Riyadh Province in Saudi Arabia | |||||||||
 AUS Air ForceE-3 Sentry deployed to the363rd Air Expeditionary Wing takes off from Prince Sultan AB during the initial stages of the2003 invasion of Iraq. | |||||||||
 The emblem of Prince Sultan Air Base | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Royal Saudi Air Force base | ||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defense | ||||||||
| Operator | Royal Saudi Air Force | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
  Prince Sultan AB Location in Saudi Arabia | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 24°03′19″N047°33′49″E / 24.05528°N 47.56361°E /24.05528; 47.56361 | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1951 (1951) | ||||||||
| In use | 1951 – present | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison |
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| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: AKH,ICAO: OEPS | ||||||||
| Elevation | 503.2 metres (1,651 ft)AMSL | ||||||||
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| Sources: World Aero Data[1][2] | |||||||||
Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB,Arabic:قاعدة الأمير سلطان الجوية,IATA:AKH[3],ICAO:OEPS) is amilitary air base located in theclosed city ofAl Kharj,Saudi Arabia.[1]
There was a largeUnited States presence there duringOperations Southern Watch,Enduring Freedom andIraqi Freedom. The U.S. presence was predominantly that of multipleUnited States Air Force (USAF) flying units, augmented by aUnited States Navy (USN) orUnited States Marine Corps (USMC)Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler squadron, aRoyal Air Force (RAF) fighter squadron withPanavia Tornado F.3s and aFrench Air Force fighter squadron withDassault Mirage 2000s,Mirage F1 CR plus aBoeing C-135RF Stratotanker air refueling aircraft. Following the attack on USAF facilities atKhobar Towers in Dharan in 1996, all USAF activities at that location were relocated to PSAB.
Before theSeptember 11 attacks, per agreement with the Saudi Arabian government, all U.S. and Allied aircraft stationed at PSAB were to be of a "defensive" versus "offensive" nature. This was due to Arab sensitivities that non-Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) aircraft in the Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia should be perceived as being there for the defense of the Kingdom.
DuringOperation Southern Watch, this required aircraft carrying offensive strike ordnance for use against ground targets in Iraq to be stationed in Kuwait or aboard aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf.United States Air Force,United States Navy,United States Marine Corps,Royal Air Force, andFrench Air Force aircraft that were based at PSAB primarily consisted ofairborne early warning,reconnaissance,air refueling,electronic warfare,suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) andair-to-air fighter aircraft, along with transient airlift aircraft. U.S. squadrons came under the operational control of the, formerly4404th Wing (Provisional),363rd Air Expeditionary Wing (363 AEW) at PSAB, with associated squadrons or detachments prior to 11 Sep 2001 rotated in and out from their home bases in Europe, the United States or the Pacific on a 90-day to 6-month basis. During Operation Southern Watch, in addition to Active Component aircraft, the USAF made extensive use ofAir National Guard (ANG) andAir Force Reserve Command (AFRC)McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle,General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon andBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and associated personnel on rotational assignments to PSAB. The United States Navy, Navy Reserve and United States Marine Corps also employed EA-6B aircraft from PSAB as well.
In August and early September 1998,Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) and its associated Coalition Air Operations Center (CAOC) were in the process of relocating from theEskan Village complex in Riyadh to PSAB concurrent with construction of a more modern and expanded CAOC at PSAB. The 1996Khobar Towers bombing accelerated this movement, so that subsequent command and control of all Coalition air operations for OperationsEnduring Freedom and the2003 invasion of Iraq were executed from PSAB, before 11 September 2001.[4]
During theWar in Afghanistan, the Saudi government refused to allow the United States to use its air bases in Saudi Arabia to launch offensive air operations against theIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan andal-Qaeda, but did allow them to use Prince Sultan Air Base to coordinate offensive air operations of air combat operations launched from other countries.[5] In mid-2003, all U.S. operations at PSAB began migrating toAl Udeid Air Base inDoha,Qatar.
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Between 2003 and 2005Vickers VC10s fromNo. 101 Squadron RAF were based here in support ofOperation Telic before moving to RAF Al Udeid (a section of the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar).[6]
In October 2019, 2,000 U.S. troops joined approximately 700 service members already stationed at the air base,[7] along with deployingB-1B bombers,F-22 Raptor stealth fighters andPatriot missile batteries.[8] The new troop buildup followed several attacks on oil tankers byIran in theGulf of Oman.[9]
The378th Air Expeditionary Wing was activated at Prince Sultan on 17 December 2019, with the Air Force stating the wing's mission is to 'provide strategic depth and increased defensive support while sustaining regional presence to promote peace through deterrence'.[10]
The air base resides at anelevation of 1,651 feet (503 m) abovemean sea level. It has tworunways designated 17L/R/35L/R with anasphalt surface measuring 4,000 by 45 metres (13,123 ft × 148 ft).[1]
The base currently uses hundreds of tents as temporary housing, though there are plans to have the tents replaced with trailers and more permanent structures.[12]
The US Air Force 378th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron is responsible forpest management on the base.[13]
Right now, the large white tents that flap in the stiff winds give a temporary feel to the mission. But according to Air Force Col. Jason King, vice commander of the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing here, there is "prudent planning" underway that could lead to the tents being replaced with trailers and other more permanent structures.
