Saudi Arabia’s assistant minister of defense, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Ayesh, passed away at the age of 68.

The defense ministry said in a statement that he was suffering from an illness. He died on Friday.

According to the international news source, he took his position in May 2014. Before that, he was serving as commander-in-chief of the Royal Saudi Air Forces (RSAF) between 2010 and 2013.

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Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Ayesh was born in 1952 and belonged to Jouf. He joined the RSAF in 1970 and graduated from King Faisal Air Academy as a pilot in 1972. He then became a pilot officer on F-15 fighter jets in the same year.

He was given the position of pilot officer in the 13th Squadron on Lightning interceptor aircraft in 1974. In 1982, he maintained the position of the same squadron flying F-15s.

Moreover, he also worked as the director of the RSAF Command’s plans and operations department, the commander of King Khalid Air Base, chief of RSAF operations, and deputy commander of the RSAF.

Al-Ayesh was awarded many military medals including the King Abdul Aziz Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, and the Legion of Merit from France, the First-Class Military Medal for Respect, and a Bronze Star from the US.