Saudi Arabia has kicked off the Spears of Victory 2026 multinational military exercise at the Air Warfare Center in the Kingdom’s Eastern Region, with organizers framing the drill as a test of joint air operations in an electronic warfare environment.
Spears of Victory has been held annually since 2020 as a multinational air and joint-forces exercise hosted by the Royal Saudi Air Force. Each edition is built around complex, scenario-based training in contested environments and has progressively expanded in scale and participation.
Focus on joint operations and EW training
The Royal Saudi Air Force is leading the exercise, which runs from January 18 to February 5, 2026, and is designed to strengthen joint operational integration across Saudi armed forces branches, the Ministry of the National Guard, the Presidency of State Security, and the Unified Military Command of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), alongside partner nations.
Major General Mohammed bin Ali Al-Omari, commander of the Air Warfare Center, said Spears of Victory 2026 aims to raise combat readiness, standardize planning and execution, and sharpen combined tactics against “current and emerging threats,” including through multi-domain joint air operations conducted under “advanced electronic warfare conditions.”
15 countries involved
A Pakistan Air Force-related readout listed participating air forces as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, France, Italy, Greece, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and said Pakistan deployed F-16C/D Block 52+ aircraft for the drill.
PAF CONTINGENT ARRIVES IN KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA TO PARTICIPATE IN EXERCISE SPEARS OF VICTORY-2026
— DGPR (AIR FORCE) (@DGPR_PAF) January 19, 2026
19 January, 2026: Pakistan Air Force contingent comprising F-16 Block-52 fighter aircraft, alongside dedicated air and ground crew, has arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base, Kingdom… pic.twitter.com/gkltWXOKhW
The exercise also takes place against the backdrop of deepening US–Saudi defense cooperation. In November 2025, US President Donald Trump said Washington would proceed with the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, in a move that would make the kingdom only the second operator of the type in the Middle East after Israel if the deal is finalized.