Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, is the Air Force’s preferred location to host Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA training. The Saudis are building a large force of sophisticated F-15SAs under a newly approved US foreign military sale. As part of the deal, the Saudis have requested the potential standup of a 12-aircraft training contingent in the United States. Air Force officials determined that Mountain Home is the preferred site primarily due to the presence of USAF F-15E units there, its suitable weather and desert environment, and the availability of airspace and infrastructure for training. Notional plans calls for at least a five-year Saudi presence at the base starting in 2014. The 12 F-15Sas would arrive that year. The beddown is contingent upon the completion of the environmental impact analysis. Mountain Home is already home to Singaporean F-15SG fighter training. (SAF/PA report by Andre Kok)
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.