Panavia Tornado Combat Aircraft

On 25 September 1985, UK and Saudi Arabia signed the Al Yamamah I contract including, amongst other things, the sale of 48 IDS and 24 ADV model Tornados. The first flight of a RSAF Tornado IDS was on 26 March 1986, and the first Saudi ADV was delivered on 9 February 1989. Saudi Tornados undertook operations during the Gulf War. In June 1993 the Al Yamamah II contract was signed, the main element of which was 48 additional IDSs.
Following experience with both the Tornado and the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, the RSAF discontinued low-level mission training in the F-15E in light of the Tornado's superior low-altitude flight performance. In addition, 10 of the Saudi Tornados were outfitted with equipment for performing reconnaissance missions. The 22 Tornado ADVs were in the process of being replaced by the modern Eurofighter Typhoon; the retired aircraft were being purchased back by the UK as of 2007.
By 2007, both the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile and the ALARM anti-radiation missile previously equipped by the RSAF's Tornados had been withdrawn from service. As of 2010, Saudi Arabia has signed several contracts for new weapon systems to be fitted to their Tornado and Typhoon fleets, such as the short range air-to-air IRIS-T missile, and the Brimstone and Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
In September 2006, the Saudi government signed a contract worth £2.5 billion (US$4.7 billion) with BAE Systems to upgrade possibly 80 aircraft in the Saudi Air Force fleet planned to be retained until 2020. RSAF Tornado 6612 returned to BAE Systems Warton in December 2006 for upgrade under the "Tornado Sustainment Programme" (TSP), which will "equip the IDS fleet with a range of new precision-guided weapons and enhanced targeting equipment, in many cases common with those systems already fielded by the UK's Tornado GR4s." In December 2007, the first RSAF aircraft to complete modernisation was returned to Saudi Arabia.