Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has patronized the graduation ceremony of the 102nd batch of King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh.

Upon arrival at the ceremony, the Minister of Defense was received by the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General Fayyad bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili; Commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force, Lieutenant-General Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, and the Commander of the King Faisal Air Academy, Major General Pilot Hazim bin Abdulrahman bin Ghashyan.

The Royal national anthem was played upon the Minister of Defense’s arrival, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The Minister honored the outstanding cadets.

Several senior officials attended the ceremony.

Founded on 10 January 1968 by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Defense and Aviation, King Faisal Air Academy (KFAA) was officially opened on 20 May 1970 under the auspices of King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz.

The college has an internal and external scholarship system to study other aviation sciences such as aviation engineering, accounting and law.

Training lasts for 27 months, with bachelor’s degrees in aeronautical sciences awarded to aircrew and engineering degrees awarded to technical specialties.

Programs include fighter pilot, weapon director, air traffic controller, and information technology training. Because most of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s equipment is made by the United Kingdom and the United States, instruction is in English, and much of the faculty is British.

Unlike other officer training schools, graduates of KFAA are trained as both pilots and officers simultaneously and are fully qualified for both flight and command duties upon graduation. Some graduates go on to further training with the United States Air Force at Columbus Air Force Base.