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U.S. Approves Major $3B Sustainment Program to Keep Saudi F-15 Fighter Jet Fleet Mission-Ready.
The U.S. State Department has approved a possible 3.0 billion dollar Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia to sustain its Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 fleet. The package strengthens aircraft readiness and long-term availability at a time when Gulf air defense and rapid response capabilities remain critical.
On 3 February 2026, the U.S. State Department announced that it had approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the sustainment of Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s, valued at up to 3.0 billion dollars. The notification, published by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), formally launches the congressional review process for a package centered on support, spare parts, software and training rather than new aircraft. This decision comes in a context of heightened regional tensions, illustrated the same day by the interception of an Iranian Shahed-139 drone by a U.S. F-35C near the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. For Saudi Arabia and its partners, the approval is significant because it directly affects the readiness and longevity of one of the Kingdom’s core airpower assets, in a region where air superiority and rapid-reaction capabilities remain central to deterrence.
Royal Saudi Air Force and U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles fly in formation over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on June 2, 2019, demonstrating joint cooperation and operational interoperability (Picture Source: Royal Saudi Air Force / U.S. Air Force)
According to the DSCA release, the Kingdom has requested a wide-ranging package of non-major defense equipment and services: spare and repair parts, consumables, ground and personnel equipment, repair-and-return support, classified and unclassified software and associated support, publications and technical documentation, training for personnel, and U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics assistance. The estimated 3.0 billion dollar figure corresponds to the highest possible scope of work based on initial requirements; the actual value will depend on detailed specifications, budget decisions and final contracts. U.S. authorities emphasize that the proposed sale will neither alter the military balance in the region nor adversely affect U.S. defense readiness and that the Kingdom is expected to integrate these services without difficulty into its existing maintenance and training ecosystem.
For Saudi Arabia, the F-15 family remains the backbone of combat aviation. The Royal Saudi Air Force is assessed to operate roughly 210 F-15s of various versions, making it the second-largest F-15 fleet in the world after the United States. The inventory includes earlier F-15C/D air-defense fighters, F-15S strike aircraft and the more recent F-15SA (Saudi Advanced) variant. Under a major agreement concluded in 2010–2011, the Kingdom ordered 84 new-build F-15SA fighters and upgrade kits for about 70 F-15S to the SA standard, in a package then valued at 29.4 billion dollars. The final F-15SA deliveries were completed around 2020, and additional contracts have subsequently been awarded to support and modernize the fleet.
The F-15SA combines a powerful twin-engine airframe with a modernized suite that includes fly-by-wire flight controls, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a digital electronic warfare system and a fully updated glass cockpit. These features allow Saudi crews to detect and track multiple air targets at long range, adjust radar modes rapidly, manage electronic countermeasures more effectively and integrate new precision weapons and datalinks over the aircraft’s life. Sustainment in this context goes well beyond routine servicing: it covers the supply of critical components to keep availability rates high, the repair and return of complex assemblies, regular software updates for avionics, sensors and mission-data libraries, and the continuous training needed to operate and maintain a technologically sophisticated fleet in demanding conditions.
Saudi F-15s have long been central to national air defense and regional operations, from their contribution to coalition air missions in the Gulf War to more recent employment in and around Yemen. They protect a vast national airspace and critical infrastructure including oil and gas facilities, ports and urban centers, while also supporting patrols over key maritime approaches such as the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. The aircraft operate in conjunction with airborne early-warning platforms, aerial refuelling tankers and ground-based air defense systems to provide layered coverage. A consistent sustainment framework for the F-15 fleet therefore, has a direct impact on the number of aircraft available for defensive counter-air patrols, quick-reaction alert duties, escort missions and joint exercises with partners.
From a tactical and doctrinal perspective, the proposed U.S. package is an enabler for day-to-day readiness rather than an expansion of Saudi Arabia’s weapons inventory. By securing long-term access to spare parts, repair capabilities and software support, Riyadh aims to keep a large fleet of complex aircraft at high availability rates, which is essential when potential threats include cruise missiles, one-way attack drones and manned platforms operating at long range. In practice, this sustainment effort supports the Royal Saudi Air Force’s ability to launch combat-ready F-15s on short notice, to maintain persistent patrols over strategic sites, and to integrate seamlessly into combined air operations with U.S. and other allied forces. It also contributes to safety and standardization by aligning maintenance practices and technical documentation with U.S. benchmarks.
U.S. officials present the sale as a contribution to their foreign-policy and national-security objectives by reinforcing the security of a Major Non-NATO Ally that plays an important role in political stability and economic development in the Gulf. The approval comes only days after Washington cleared a separate 9 billion dollar sale of 730 Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors to Saudi Arabia and in parallel with major arms packages for Israel, bringing the combined total of recently announced sales to nearly 16 billion dollars. In this wider framework, F-15 sustainment is one element of a broader strategy to maintain a capable, interoperable set of air and missile-defense assets among U.S. partners, while the DSCA explicitly states that the transaction is not expected to change the overall military balance in the region.
Geostrategically, the timing of the announcement invites comparison with the situation at sea. On the same day the DSCA notice was published, a U.S. F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 or Shahed-129 drone that U.S. officials say was approaching the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier “aggressively” and with unclear intent in the Arabian Sea, roughly 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast. A few hours later, Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces and a drone reportedly harassed a U.S.-flagged tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, prompting intervention by a U.S. warship. These incidents illustrate how unmanned systems, missiles and maritime pressure are used in the wider strategic competition between Iran and the United States, with potential spillover risks for Gulf shipping and energy markets. In such an environment, Saudi Arabia’s ability to maintain a reliable, well-equipped F-15 fleet reinforces its role in regional air policing, shared situational awareness and the protection of vital sea lanes alongside partners.
The 3.0 billion dollar F-15 sustainment proposal underlines both the continuity of the defense partnership between Washington and Riyadh and the enduring centrality of the F-15 to Saudi defense planning. By focusing on long-term support, software, training and logistics rather than new platforms, the United States is seeking to ensure that the Royal Saudi Air Force can rely on a mature and well-understood fighter at a time when regional security is shaped by drones, missiles and complex maritime dynamics. For Saudi decision-makers, sustaining a large, modernized F-15 fleet at high readiness levels is a way to preserve credible airpower, contribute to collective security in the Gulf and maintain close operational links with key partners in an evolving strategic environment.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.