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Mohammed Al-Ayash has been ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s assistant minister for defense since May 2014. 

Previously, a royal decree was issued in 2010 appointing him commander-in-chief of the Royal Saudi Air Forces (RSAF) until he retired in 2013.

Al-Ayash joined the RSAF in 1970 and graduated from King Faisal Air Academy as a pilot in 1972. He was appointed as a pilot officer on the F-15 fighter aircraft in the same year.

In 1974, he was made a pilot officer in the 13th Squadron on Lightning Interceptor aircraft. In 1982, he became a pilot officer in the 13th Squadron flying F15s. Al-Ayash attended an instructor pilot and weapons instructor course on Lightning aircraft in the UK in 1978.

In addition, he attended an initial qualification and instructor pilot course on F-15s in the US in 1981, and another course at the Air War College in Alabama at Maxwell Air Force Command in 1994. 

Al-Ayash holds a bachelor’s degree in air science from King Faisal Air Academy, and a master’s degree in military science from Staff College in Riyadh. 

On Wednesday, Al-Ayesh led the Kingdom’s delegation to the 16th GCC Joint Defense Council, comprising defense ministers from the region.

The council was held in Muscat under the chairmanship of Oman’s Minister for Defense Affairs Badr bin Saud bin Hareb Albusaeedi.

The ministers expressed that the defense of the GCC countries is an integral issue and that any attack on any party is considered an attack against the group.