Prince Khalid bin Salman: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, in his capacity as deputy king, issued a royal decree on Saturday appointing Prince Khalid bin Salman as Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister.

In 2017, Prince Khalid was appointed Ambassador to the United States of America, a position now held by Princess Reema bint Bandar, the Kingdom’s first female ambassador.

Prior to his appointment as the Kingdom’s ambassador to the US, he served as an adviser at the office of the Saudi Minister of Defense, where he was assigned with several responsibilities by the Crown Prince, and then as an adviser at the Kingdom’s Embassy in Washington, DC.

Prince Khalid graduated from King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh and joined the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). He received his training at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. He also received advanced training at the Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi. Additionally, the Prince studied advanced cyberwarfare in France.

Prince Khalid previously worked as an F-15 fighter pilot and a tactical intelligence officer in the RSAF, where he took part in more than 50 combat missions as part of the international coalition ‎campaign against ISIS in Syria and as part of Operations Decisive Storm and Renewal of Hope in Yemen as a pilot. While he was in the RSAF, Prince Khalid trained extensively with the US military both in the United States and in Saudi Arabia.

Prince Khalid currently serves as the Kingdom’s Deputy Defense Minister, while the position of Defense Minister is held by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.