Royal Bahraini Air Force
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) was formerly known as Bahrain Amiri Air Force (BAAF) but since the elections of 14 February 2002, the state became a monarchy and the Armed Forces were renamed accordingly. The air force had 650 personnel in 1992.[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
The air branch of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) was organized in 1977 and began flying helicopters. In 1986, F-5 fighter jets were acquired from the United States.
In 1987, the Bahrain Defense Force was reorganized into separate Army, Navy and Air force branches with the Air Wing becoming the Bahrain Amiri Air Force (BAAF). The delivery of a squadron of F-16s from 1990 marked a further increase in the capabilities of the air arm. The new F-16 unit was based at Shaikh Isa AB alongside the F-5s. On 2 August 1990 several aircraft from the Kuwait Air Force were evacuated to Bahrain during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. During the subsequent Gulf War, BAAF F-5s and F-16s first flew defensive missions on 25 January 1991 and began offensive operations the following day. The Gulf War ended on 28 February 1991.
A second batch of F-16s commenced delivery in 2000. The new aircraft were equipped to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, first used by the USAF in the Gulf War. The original batch of F-16s received will be upgraded to carry the AMRAAM also. In July 2000, Bahrain signed a deal with BAE Systems to establish a pilot academy based around the Hawk trainer - similar to the NFTC in Canada. Subsequently, orders were placed for Slingsby T.67 Fireflys and BAE Hawk 100 trainers. The first trainers were delivered in October 2006.[2]
[edit] Incidents and accidents
One F-16 was lost on 27 September 2003 when Lieutenant Colonel Abdulaziz Snan Al Dossary crashed in the Persian Gulf, 46 miles north of Bahrain.[3]
[edit] Strength
The RBAF operates a total of 73 aircraft, including 32 jet combat aircraft and 38 helicopters.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agusta-Bell 212 Twin Huey |  Italy |
Utility helicopter | AB212 | 12 | |
| Bell AH-1 Cobra |  United States |
Attack helicopter | Total AH-1E AH-1P TAH-1P |
24 10 6 6 |
|
| British Aerospace Hawk |  United Kingdom |
Advanced Lead-In Fighter Trainer | Hawk 129 | 6 | |
| Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon | United States |
Fighter | Total F-16C F-16D |
20 16 4[5] |
|
| MBB Bo 105 |  Germany |
Utility helicopter | 3 | Additional 2 Bo 105CBS-MSS operated by the navy. | |
| Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II | United States |
Fighter | Total F-5E F-5F |
12 8 4[6] |
|
| Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk | United States |
Utility helicopter | UH-60L | 1 | |
| Slingsby T-67 Firefly | United Kingdom |
Trainer | T-67M | 3 |
In addition, the Bahraini police operate 2 Bell 412 helicopters as well as 1 Bell 427.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||
