Royal Air Force of Oman explained

Unit Name:Royal Air Force of Oman
Country: Oman
Type:Air force
Role:Aerial warfare
Command Structure:Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces
Commander1:Sultan Haitham bin Tariq
Commander1 Label:Commander-in-Chief
Commander2:Air Vice-Marshal Khamis bin Hammad Al-Ghafri
Commander2 Label:Commander of the Air Force
Identification Symbol Label:Fin flash
Identification Symbol 2 Label:Flag
Aircraft Fighter:F-16 Fighting Falcon, Eurofighter Typhoon, BAe Hawk 203
Aircraft Helicopter:(SuperLynx, NH-90, Bell429/Bell206)
Aircraft Trainer:BAe Hawk 103, Pilatus PC-9, PAC Super MFI-17 Mushshak
Aircraft Transport:C-130 Hercules, Airbus A320, Dornier 228

The Royal Air Force of Oman (Arabic: سلاح الجو السلطاني عمان|Silāḥ al-Jaww as-Sulṭāniy ‘Umān or RAFO) is the air arm of the Armed Forces of Oman.

History

Sultan of Oman's Air Force era

The Sultan of Oman's Air Force (SOAF) was formed with British personnel and aircraft in March 1959. The first aircraft were two Scottish Aviation Pioneers transferred from the Royal Air Force. The first armed aircraft was the Percival Provost T52.[1]

In 1968 the SOAF received the first of 24 BAC Strikemaster jet trainer and light strike aircraft for operation against insurgents in the Dhofar region. In 1974 the SOAF was expanded with orders for the Britten Norman Defender, BAC One-Eleven, BAC VC10 and 32 Hawker Hunter ground attack aircraft. In 1977 Jaguar International joined the SOAF, followed in the 1980s by the BAE Hawk.[1]

Royal Air Force of Oman era

In 1990 the SOAF was renamed the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO).[1] In 1993 and 1994 the RAFO replaced its Hawker Hunters with four BAE Hawk Mk 103 fighter-trainers and 12 single-seat Hawk Mk 203s, equipped with Westinghouse APG-66H radar, as light ground attack aircraft/interceptors. In September 1997, after the evaluation of new combat aircraft, the RAFO decided to upgrade and extend the service lives of its remaining 17 SEPECAT Jaguar ground attack aircraft until the second decade of the 21st century. A contract was placed with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence to upgrade the avionics of the Jaguar aircraft for $40 million. In 2005, deliveries of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 50 aircraft began, equipped with improved GPS/INS. The aircraft can carry a further batch of advanced missiles; the AGM-88 HARM missile, JDAM, JSOW and WCMD.

On 3 August 2010, the USA Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified the Congress of a possible sale of 18 F-16 Block 50/52 to Oman in a contract worth US$3.5 Billion. In addition to the new fighters, the contract included upgrading existing 12 F-16 C/D in the RAFO inventory.[2] On 14 December 2011, it was announced that Oman had agreed to buy an additional 12 F-16C/D Block 50s to join the 12 F-16C/Ds already in service.[3]

Oman was considering the purchase of either the Eurofighter Typhoon or the JAS 39 Gripen,[4] but on 21 December 2012 a £2.5 billion deal was signed in Muscat to supply RAFO with 12 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and eight BAE Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft. The deliveries were completed in 2018.[5]

Bases

Installation Unit with aircraft type Notes
No. 8 Squadron with Eurofighter Typhoon
No. 14 Squadron (det) with NH90-TTH
No. 14 Squadron (det) with NH90-TTH
No. 15 Squadron with NH90-TTH & Super Lynx Mk.120
No. 1 Squadron with Super Mushshak & PC-9(M)
No. 6 Squadron with Hawk 103, Hawk 103A & Hawk 203
No. 15 Squadron (det) with Super Lynx Mk.120
No. 2 Squadron with SC7-3M-4022 Seavan Air base co-located within Muscat International Airport. Shifted to Mussanah.
No. 4 Squadron with A320-214CJ
No. 14 Squadron with NH90-TTH & SA330J
No. 16 Squadron with C-130H & C-130J
No. 3 Squadron with NH90-TTH, Bell 206B3, Bell 429 & Super Lynx Mk.120
No. 5 Squadron with C295M
No. 18 Squadron with F-16C-50-CF & F-16D-50-CF
No. 20 Squadron with F-16C-50-CF & F-16D-50-CF

Aircraft

Current inventory

AircraftOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotes
Combat Aircraft
Eurofighter TyphoonUnited Kingdommultirole12[6]
BAE Hawk 200light multirole203, 103’s2111 103s provide LIFT
F-16 Fighting FalconUnited StatesmultiroleF-16C/D226 F-16Ds provide conversion training
Maritime Patrol
CASA C-295Spainmaritime patrol4
Transport
Airbus A320FranceVIP transport2[7]
CASA C-295Spaintransport4
C-130 HerculesUnited StatestransportC-130H3
C-130J Super HerculesUnited Statestactical airlifter2one aircraft is a C-130J-30[8]
Westland LynxUnited KingdomASW13
NHIndustries NH90Europeanutility / transport18
Eurocopter EC225FranceVIP transport6[9] flown for the Oman Royal Flight
Trainer Aircraft
Bell 206United Statesrotorcraft trainer 4
Bell 429United Statesrotorcraft trainer5
Pilatus PC-9Switzerlandtrainer12
PAC Super MushshakPakistantrainer7

Retired

Previous aircraft flown by the Air Force included the SEPECAT Jaguar S/B, Hawker Hunter, BAC Strikemaster, Douglas DC-8, Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander, Skyvan 3M, BAe BAC-1-11, Scheibe Super-Falke, and the Bell 214B helicopter[10] [11]

Commanders

The first Omani to command the Air Force was Air Vice-Marshal Talib bin Meran bin Zaman Al-Raeesi who was appointed in June 1990.[12]

Ranks

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Royal Air Force of Oman . 31 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140209030350/http://arabaviation.com/en-us/airpower/omanairforce.aspx . 9 February 2014 . live . dmy-all .
  2. Web site: Archived copy . 2010-08-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100821021308/http://www.dsca.mil/PressReleases/36-b/2010/Oman_10-40.pdf . 21 August 2010 . dmy-all .
  3. Hoyle, Craig. "Omani F-16 deal means continued wait for Eurofighter." Flight International via flightglobal.com, 14 December 2011. Retrieved: 18 December 2011.
  4. http://tacticalreport.com/view_news/Royal_Air_Force_of_Oman_JAS_39_Gripen_and_Eurofighter_Typhoon/1229 Royal Air Force of Oman, JAS 39 Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon
  5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20808517 BBC News - BAE Systems wins £2.5bn Oman Hawk and Typhoon contract
  6. Web site: World Air Forces 2023. Flightglobal Insight. 2023 . 14 February 2023. registration.
  7. Web site: Royal Air Force of Oman orders two Airbus A320 Corporate Jets . airbus.com . 12 October 2015.
  8. Web site: Oman gets ready to induct C-130J . arabianaerospace.aero . 12 October 2015.
  9. Web site: Oman Royal Flight . .helis.com . 2 October 2019.
  10. Web site: Aeroflight » Oman. Air Force. aeroflight.co.uk. 16 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150623122719/http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/tag/oman-air-force. 23 June 2015. live. dmy-all.
  11. Web site: World Air Forces 1987 pg. 76 . flightglobal.com . 11 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160815085420/https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1987/1987%20-%202526.PDF . 15 August 2016 . live . dmy-all .
  12. Web site: The Evolution of Oman's Royal Air Force. rafmuseum.org.uk. 5 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006125759/http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/an-enduring-relationship-a-history-of-frienship-between-the-royal-air-force-and-the-royal-air-force-of-oman/the-evolution-of-omans-royal-air-force.aspx. 6 October 2014. live. dmy-all.