Riyadh, June 17: Saudi Arabia appointed Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Ayish as the kingdom’s new air force commander after his predecessor retired, Okaz newspaper reported on Thursday.
“King Abdullah… issued Wednesday a royal decree promoting Major General Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Ayish to the rank of lieutenant general and appointing him as commander of the air force,” the daily said.
The decree announced Lieutenant General Abdulrahman bin Fahd al-Faisal’s retirement from the position he held since 2004.
Ayish was the air force’s logistics manager and also served as the kingdom’s southern commander and as the chief of King Khaled Air Base, near Khamis Mushait in the southwest, Okaz said.
The Royal Saudi Air Force was established in 1950 to protect the oil-rich monarchy’s economic and energy installations. It has more than 350 combat aircraft, according to defence information website GlobalSecurity.org.
—Agencies