No. 88 Squadron is born

The Royal Saudi Air Force’s display team was set up at King Abdulaziz Air Base, Dhahran, as No. 88 Squadron. English Wikipedia dates its creation to 6 June 1998 by the chief of staff, General Abdulaziz Henaidy, with the backing of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the defence minister; Arabic Wikipedia gives a founding date of 12 June 1997 and says Prince Sultan named it Al-Suqur al-Saudiya on 6 August 1998. The Arabic name is rendered in English both as Saudi Hawks and as Saudi Falcons. The team’s debut over Riyadh in 1999 formed part of the kingdom’s centenary celebrations; the English article puts it in January, the Arabic in June.

Seven Hawks in green and white

The team began with five pilots and five aircraft for its first year and then grew to seven, according to Arabic Wikipedia. Its aircraft are BAE Hawk Mk 65 and Mk 65A trainers modified by BAE Systems for display work; English Wikipedia counts six smoke-capable Mk 65As and three Mk 65s assigned. They wear the green and white of the national flag and carry smoke pods for white, green and red. Ex-Red Arrows personnel helped train the team, which invites comparison with the British team on the same type.

From Bahrain to Europe

The first display abroad came in February 2000 at Bahrain’s Defence Force Day, and soon afterwards the team and the Hawk squadrons moved from Dhahran to King Faisal Air Base at Tabuk in the north-west. From June 2002 it toured the kingdom for four months. Arabic Wikipedia records first place at the Al Ain aerobatic championship in 2004 and 2005. Europe followed in 2011 with Airpower at Zeltweg and a first British appearance at the Royal International Air Tattoo, where weather cancelled the first day’s display; later came Kavala in 2014 and Rivolto for the Frecce Tricolori’s 55th anniversary in 2015, and the Kuwait Air Show in 2018.

Who flies them

Arabic Wikipedia describes a team of about 50 people in three parts: seven display pilots, a technical crew that maintains and prepares the aircraft, and an administrative staff. Pilots must be front-line fighter pilots with more than 800 flying hours, hold at least the rank of captain and be qualified as flying instructors.

The Mk 165 era

The team returned to Britain in July 2023 for the RAF Waddington families evening and the Air Tattoo at Fairford. In February 2024, in its 25th anniversary year, it received its first BAE Systems Hawk Mk 165. No serious accident involving the team was found in the sources reached.