Editing Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia (section)

==Defense spending==
[[File:2018 Military Expenditures by Country.png|thumb|A pie chart showing global military expenditures by country for 2018, in US$ billions, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.]]
Spending on defense and security has increased significantly since the mid-1990s and was about US$67&nbsp;billion in 2013. Saudi Arabia ranks among the top five nations in the world in government spending for its military, representing about 9% of GDP in 2013. Its modern, high-technology arsenal makes Saudi Arabia among the world's most densely armed nations, with its military equipment being supplied primarily by the United States, France, and Britain.<ref name="Library of Congress 2006">[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Saudi_Arabia.pdf "Country Profile: Saudi Arabia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116081700/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Saudi_Arabia.pdf |date=16 January 2011 }}, September 2006, United States Library of Congress</ref> According to [[SIPRI]], in 2010–14 Saudi Arabia became the world's second largest arms importer, receiving four times more major arms than in 2005–2009. Major imports in 2010–14 included 45 combat aircraft from the United Kingdom, 38 combat helicopters from the U.S., 4 tanker aircraft from Spain and over 600 armored vehicles from Canada. Saudi Arabia has a long list of outstanding orders for arms, including 27 more combat aircraft from the United Kingdom, 154 combat aircraft from the U.S. and a large number of armoured vehicles from Canada.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trends in International Arms Transfer, 2014|url=http://books.sipri.org/product_info?c_product_id=495|publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute|access-date=18 March 2015|ref=SIPRI Fact Sheet, March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319023856/http://books.sipri.org/product_info?c_product_id=495|archive-date=19 March 2015}}</ref>

The United States sold more than $80&nbsp;billion in military hardware between 1951 and 2006 to the Saudi military.<ref>[https://fas.org/asmp/profiles/saudi_arabia.htm "Saudi Arabia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111112056/https://fas.org/asmp/profiles/saudi_arabia.htm |date=11 November 2010 }}, Federation of American Scientists</ref> In comparison, the [[Israel Defense Forces]] received $53.6&nbsp;billion in U.S. military grants between 1949 and 2007.<ref>{{cite web |author=Pierre Tristam Middle East Issues Expert |url=http://middleeast.about.com/od/saudiarabia/a/saudi-arabia-military-aid.htm |title=U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia |publisher=Middleeast.about.com |access-date=21 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112044440/http://middleeast.about.com/od/saudiarabia/a/saudi-arabia-military-aid.htm |archive-date=12 January 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On 20 October 2010, [[U.S. State Department]] notified Congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in American history—an estimated $60.5&nbsp;billion purchase by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The package represented a considerable improvement in the offensive capability of the Saudi armed forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=1&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=376&PID=0&IID=5177&TTL=Arms_for_the_King_and_His_Family:_The_U.S._Arms_Sale_to_Saudi_Arabia|title=Arms for the King and His Family: The U.S. Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia|work=Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs|access-date=25 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205012554/http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=1&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=376&PID=0&IID=5177&TTL=Arms_for_the_King_and_His_Family%3A_The_U.S._Arms_Sale_to_Saudi_Arabia|archive-date=5 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The United States emphasized that the arms transfer would increase "interoperability" with U.S. forces. In the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]], having U.S.-trained Saudi Arabian forces, along with military installations built to U.S. specifications, allowed the U.S. military to deploy in a comfortable and familiar battle environment. This new deal would increase these capabilities, as an advanced American military infrastructure is about to be built.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.susris.com/2010/09/17/us-saudi-security-cooperation-impact-of-arms-sales |title=US-Saudi Security Cooperation, Impact of Arms Sales |author=Anthony H. Cordesman |author-link=Anthony H. Cordesman |publisher=[[Saudi-U.S. Relations Information Service]] |date=17 September 2010 |access-date=16 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113053126/http://www.susris.com/2010/09/17/us-saudi-security-cooperation-impact-of-arms-sales/ |archive-date=13 January 2011 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> The U.S. government was also in talks with Saudi Arabia about the potential sale of advanced naval and missile-defense upgrades.<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704621204575488361149625050 "Saudi Arms Deal Advances"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116023109/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704621204575488361149625050 |date=16 November 2017 }}, ''Wall Street Journal''</ref>

The United Kingdom has also been a major supplier of military equipment to Saudi Arabia since 1965.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Charles |title=British Aircraft Corporation. A history by Charles Gardner|year=1981|publisher=B.T. Batsford Ltd |isbn=978-0-7134-3815-4|pages=224–249 }}</ref><!--|access-date=19 August 2006|Tornado]] and [[Eurofighter Typhoon]] combat aircraft—and other equipment as part of the long-term [[Al-Yamamah arms deal]] estimated to have been worth £43&nbsp;billion by 2006 and thought to be worth a further £40&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connell |first=Dominic |title=BAE cashes in on £40bn Arab jet deal |work=The Sunday Times |date=20 August 2006 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-2320097,00.html |access-date=22 August 2006 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907153551/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-2320097,00.html |archive-date=7 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}-->

In 2014, Canada won a contract worth at least US$10&nbsp;billion to supply the Saudi Arabian army with armored military vehicles.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/14/saudi-arabia-canada-military_n_4790626.html|title=Saudi Arabia, Canada Sign Landmark US$10B Military Vehicle Deal|date=14 February 2014|work=HuffPost|access-date=18 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119120114/http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/14/saudi-arabia-canada-military_n_4790626.html|archive-date=19 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>