In 2022, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched a Regional Cloud Seeding Program under the National Center of Meteorology (NCM). A contemporaneous research program compatible with the operational cloud seeding program is planned with an overarching goal of conducting a techno-economic assessment of rainfall enhancement activities in the Kingdom. The availability of in situ aerosol and cloud microphysical observations from a research aircraft is an important prerequisite to develop a data-informed research and evaluation roadmap. The Saudi AeRosol-cloud-Precipitation Enhancement Campaign (SARPEC) is a series of intensive observation periods (IOPs) using the University of North Dakota Cessna Citation II research jet, equipped with state-of-the-art cloud physics instrumentation. Two IOPs are underway during the summer and fall 2023 seasons and a third IOP is planned for the spring 2024 season to sample both the southwest and central regions of the Kingdom during periods of frequent convective cloud development. The SARPEC measurements will provide the first contemporary cloud climatology of actively growing (natural and seeded) convective clouds from advanced instrumentation since the legacy measurements gathered during 2004-2010. We present the research questions and hypotheses driving the stepwise science objectives of SARPEC and the framework for the overarching techno-economic assessment of cloud seeding activities in the Kingdom. The outcomes of this research will contribute valuable insights to the current understanding and knowledge gaps in the weather modification community, particularly for rainfall enhancement strategies in arid regions.

