King Salman Air Base

King Salman Air Base (ICAO: OESN) is a Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) installation in southwest Riyadh, Riyadh Province. The Ministry of Defense owns the base, and it occupies a site of approximately 45 square kilometres. It replaced Riyadh Air Base, which was demolished between 2021 and 2022 to make way for King Salman Park under Saudi Vision 2030. RSAF operations were relocated from the former base to the new site.

The Ministry of Defense and the RSAF handed the site over to contractors on 14 May 2020, and construction began in the third quarter of 2021. The contractors included Nesma & Partners, Almabani General Contractors, ATS, El Seif Engineering and Double Vision Ltd. Naseem Al Namaa installed the low- and medium-voltage electrical and telecommunications networks. The Samnan Group supplied the fuel systems, including tanks, pumps and control panels. Both runways were paved by 2024, and construction was completed between October and November 2024 after 38 months of work. In January 2025, Riyadh Municipality began roadworks at the base entrance and on Al-Nafud Road, which opened in June 2025. The King Salman Control Zone was activated on 2 October 2025. It is Class D airspace, operates 24 hours a day, and is controlled by SALMAN Tower in English. The base was officially inaugurated on 9 December 2025.

The RSAF operates the base, which can support fourth- and fifth-generation combat aircraft as well as unmanned aerial vehicles. It houses a command and operations centre for Saudi Arabia's Integrated Air and Missile Defence System, which provides missile defence for Riyadh and the surrounding central regions.

The airfield has two parallel runways, a network of asphalt taxiways, a main apron with 51 aircraft stands, and a helicopter apron with six stands. Other facilities include multiple hangars, an air traffic control tower, maintenance hangars, workshops, engineering centres, simulation and training centres, and command-and-control systems. Technical, administrative, residential and security facilities cover approximately 126,000 square metres. The project comprised about 100 buildings, each with its own emergency generator.

The base is rated Aerodrome Category 9 for rescue and firefighting and is equipped with foam tenders, command vehicles, a water tanker and a rescue stair vehicle. On-site tankers supply Jet A-1, Avgas and JP-8 fuel. The Riyadh MET Office provides real-time weather information to air traffic control, and the Jeddah Central Forecast Office prepares Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts. Navigation aids include a DVOR/TACAN (ID "KSN") that operates 24 hours a day. Runways 02L and 02R have instrument landing systems with localizer, glideslope and co-located distance measuring equipment.