RAF Typhoons join allies from around the world for Spears of Victory 24 in Saudi Arabia

Royal Air Force Typhoons have been welcomed to Saudi Arabia ahead of this year's Spears of Victory exercise.

The RAF Coningsby-based Typhoons from XI (Fighter) Squadron arrived in the kingdom to take part in the exercise which will be held at the King Abdulaziz Air Base.

"Spears of Victory 24 is an extremely important training opportunity for our force enablers to work alongside strategic partners in the region to demonstrate the combat air capacity of our highly trained pilots and engineers in the Typhoon force," said UK Detachment Commander, Squadron Leader Hodgkinson.

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He added: "Now, as much as never before, we strive for excellence in air dominance – collaborating with allies that have come together in a demonstration of their commitment to stability in the broader Middle East.

"The welcome at King Abdulaziz Air Base and the support in country has been fantastic and the facilities here will allow us to really make the most of this opportunity.

"We look forward to a busy deployment, operating at a high tempo alongside our international colleagues. I am confident the whole detachment will learn a great deal from the exercise."

The Spears of Victory exercise is designed to improve the tactical proficiency of pilots from each nation that takes part, while giving RAF pilots the chance to work side-by-side with their peers from around the world.

During the exercise, the RAF will have the opportunity to plan and execute complex missions with other nations in a testing desert environment.

Spears of Victory will include training around command and control, mission planning and integration.

The aim of the exercise is to assure a high level of training for all participants.

In addition to the RAF Typhoons taking part in this year's exercise, Royal Saudi Air Force pilots will be flying their Typhoons, Tornados and F-15s.

Other nations include Bahrain, Greece, Qatar, UAE, France, Pakistan and Oman.

The United States is not flying this year, but instead has committed a mixed unit of National Guardsmen to provide a range of ground support activities, including firefighters, security and logisticians to support the exercise.