ABSTRACT
The sheer rate of military build–up in the region presents a major challenge to Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is a nation of only 6–8 million, with armed forces of only 51,000–75,000 men. By the early 1990s, Saudi Arabia will confront Soviet fighter types with air to air combat capabilities roughly equivalent to the Saudi Air Force's F–15 C/Ds and Tornados, and probably forces with Soviet–made AW ACS and electronic warfare aircraft. Saudi Arabia, its conservative and moderate neighbors, and the West face a massive problem in terms of "conventional proliferation". By the time that all the new Tornados become fully operational in Saudi forces, a wide range of new weapons technologies will be present in the forces of potentially hostile nations. Saudi Arabia already faces serious potential threats from a number of Red Sea states. These threats take on special meaning because of Saudi Arabia's geography.
