A multinational coalition of air forces united in a training mission to defend the skies over the Arabian Gulf. Fifteen countries — including aircraft from the United States, Pakistan, Qatar, Great Britain, France and Italy — participated in Spears of Victory 26, led by host nation Saudi Arabia.
Spears of Victory ran from late January to early February 2026 at the Air Warfare Center at King Abdulaziz Air Base in Dhahran, in the eastern part of the country near the Arabian Gulf. Exercise participants integrated tactics to confront aerial threats with potential to destabilize the region, including unmanned aerial systems.
Saudi Arabia has hosted Spears of Victory since 2020, but the 2026 iteration had the largest number of participants and more missions than ever before, said exercise commander Gen. Mohammed bin Ali Al-Omari of the Royal Saudi Air Force.
“We took our time to prepare for this edition of exercise Spears of Victory, drawing on our experiences in previous editions. We benefited from our experience in building international and regional alliances, and from the many countries that participated in previous editions of the exercise,” Gen. Al-Omari said.
“We developed a scenario that keeps pace with the requirements of modern warfare and the rapidly evolving emerging threats.”
The exercise featured complex simulations to mimic joint tactical operations. Electronic and cyberwarfare scenarios played a role, as did unmanned aerial systems, whose arrival on the battlefield has disrupted traditional air defenses.
Spears of Victory helped participating forces hone combat readiness and operational coordination to support regional and global security. Night operations, surveillance and reconnaissance, and air refueling were part of the mix.
Pakistan’s Air Force praised the exercise for strengthening its ability to coordinate missions with partner countries, saying it hoped to “validate its operational preparedness in a contested, technology-driven battle space.”
Pakistani aircraft, including F-16 Block-52 fighters, began the training mission with a nonstop flight from their base in Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. It demonstrated the “long-range operational reach and expeditionary capabilities of Pakistan Air Force,” the Pakistani military’s media branch reported.
The Air Warfare Center serves as a hub for advanced air combat training and the headquarters for Gulf Cooperation Council air combat operations. It was inaugurated by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in April 2019 as the first of its kind in the Gulf region. The model for the center was the U.S.’ Nellis Air Force Base.
The exercise included 15 participating countries, some as observers: host Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
Although the exercise focused mostly on aerial missions, Spears of Victory integrated air, land, sea and support forces to seek seamless coordination among different branches of government.
Saudi Arabia engaged its ground, air, naval and air defense branches, in addition to the National Guard, the Presidency of State Security and the Unified Military Command of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Sources: Inter-Services Public Relations (Pakistan), Al Arabiya, Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
