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Saudi Missiles - Shaheen

The official website of the Saudi Strategic Missile Force notes that "(Shaheen = Falcon) is the secret name of the strategic missile force, which was named after the island falcon by King Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman..." Initially Pakistan's missiles were designated "Hatf", named after one of the swords of the Prophet PBUH. Subsequently, some of these missiles also acquired Shaheen designators, and possibly this reflects the participation of the Kingdom in this program.

Saudi officials discussed the procurement of new Pakistani intermediate-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Press reports had speculated that China had approached the Saudis with offers to sell modern missile systems. The 600-km range CSS-6 and 1800-km range CSS-5 solid-fueled missiles had been mentioned.

Some sources suggested in 2013 that RSSMF was considering acquiring advanced Chinese DF-21 ballistic missiles in the near future. These concerns were confirmed in early 2014, when Jeff Stein of Newsweek reported that “According to a well-placed intelligence source, Saudi Arabia bought ballistic missiles from China in 2007 in a hitherto unreported deal that won Washington's quiet approval on the condition that CIA technical experts could verify they were not designed to carry nuclear warheads." The deal was evidently with the approval of the George W. Bush administration.

These reports mention the book “Patriot Lost,” which was written by a former American intelligence analyst (previously a naval engineer) Jonathan Scherck), who described the purchase by Saudi Arabia of mobile solid-fuel DF-21 missiles from China in 2003-2004, with the receipt of a permit from the administration of the US president no later than December 2003. The U.S. government denied any knowledge of these events in response to Schersk's FOIA requests, and seemingly pursued legal action to prevent its further distribution [it is not available through Amazon, though Barnes and Noble seems to know about a couple of used-bookstore copies].

More recently, it became clear that Pakistan had transferred an entire missile testing and production complex to the Saudis. The number and types of solid propellant missiles produced at this factory are unknown. Pakistans Shaheen [meaning Falcon, Royal Falcon or Eagle, in English] family seems most likely: Shaheen-I / PRC M-9 with an 800 km range, the Shaheen-II / PRC M-18 with a 2,000 km range, and the Shaheen-III / PRC DF-21 [aka Ababil] with a range of about 2,750 km.

Saudi Arabia is a big country, and Iran is a big country. With a range of only 800km, the Shaheed I could only cover part of Iran even if fired from a Gulf coast location. In a more challenging scenario, if Saudi missiles were deployed on the Red Sea coast - say at Mecca - the 2800 km range of the Shaheen III would cover all of Iran.

Falconry, or Hawking, the employment of falcons in the chase, is great sport in the Kingdom. This sport is of Oriental origin, and has been practised in the East since before the days of any record. The sport spread over Europe with the Roman domination, but seems not to have been introduced into England until the 9th century. Many laws and social customs regulated this pursuit in Great Britain, and many terms and phrases remain in the language as an inheritance from the art and etiquette of this most elegant form of the chase. In North Africa and the Orient the sport flourishes as much as formerly; and there eagles are often employed, and quarry as large as gazelles and bustards is struck down. Good falcons show a keen interest and great intelligence in their work.

Falconidae are a family of raptorial birds, comprising the sub-families Gypaetina (lammergeiers), Polyborina (carrion-hawks), Accipitrina (hawks), Butconinte (buzzards), Aquillina (eagles), and Falconina (falcons). They are all remarkable for strong and sharply hooked bills, with a distinct cere, usually fleshy; and most of them have sharp and powerful talons, designed to seize, kill, and tear to pieces the living prey upon which most of them subsist. In the eagles and falcons these characters are developed in the highest degree. The tarsus is usually more or less feathered, in some cases down to the very toes, which are arranged three in front and one behind, and are exceedingly strong and tenacious. There is a projection over the eyebrows except in the ospreys, which gives an appearance to the eyes of being very deeply set in the orbits.

Hunting with Falcons is an ancient Arab heritage from ancient times. The results of many archaeological surveys indicate that the relationship between the son of the Arabian Peninsula and the falcon was more than 12 centuries old. The followers of target of “falconer” in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia find it was a mean of earning through the use of its prey at that times, and a hobby through which the falconer is practicing it as a live sport, while today it is an addition to being a hobby and an original heritage with economic returns that are meaningful to some who have taken the field of investment, whether in terms of trade in falcons, or providing support services to its amateurs. At the official level, falconry has a great deal of interest in Saudi Arabia in its various regions, and participated in festivals with wings dedicated to the live falcons presentation, and it does not overlook the provision of specialized courses in falconry breeding, training and introducing the importance of this heritage and its originality in specialized establishments.

Archaeological evidence has confirmed that the practice of falconry in the Kingdom dates back to more than 9000 BC. The falcons are symbolic in the human civilizations in general and in the Arabian Peninsula region in particular. They have enjoyed a distinct place among the Arabs, and are greatly associated in their lives. Overtime, falconry has worked its way into the popular culture known as falconry, and has been introduced into modern trade generating millions of dollars a year for many countries. Today, there are more than 20,000 falconers in the Kingdom.