The Arab News, which bills itself as “the Middle East’s Leading English Language Daily,” had an intriguing story last week from reporter P.K. Abdul Ghafour. Filing from Jeddah, Ghafour wrote that Saudi Minister of Defense (and new Crown Prince) Sultan ibn Abdul-Aziz has a plan “to strengthen the Kingdom’s air force and for it to become No. 1 in the Middle East.” Hmmm. Israel is in the Middle East, and has an air force. Ditto with Egypt. Does USAF count? Anyway, it’s true that the RSAF has some pretty good iron—US-made F-15s, US-made E-3 AWACs, US-made air-combat missiles, etc. However, it would be pretty bold for Sultan to say, as he reportedly told RSAF officers in Tabuk, “Our air force fleet will become the strongest in the Middle East.” When, highness? And how? And why
Impure metal used to make a gear in the proprotor gearbox of a CV-22 caused it to fail, leading to a mishap and emergency landing in November 2024 that resulted in nearly $2.8 million in damages and a brief operational pause for the entire Osprey fleet, according to a new Air Force report.
