The Royal Bahraini Air Force (, abbreviated as RBAF, formerly known as Bahrain Amiri Air Force) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF). Originally formed as the BDF Air Wing in 1977, it became an independent service branch in 1987. Its first combat operations were conducted during the Gulf War.
History
The Bahrain Defence Force, which itself had come into being after the country's independence from the United Kingdom in 1971, first organized an air wing in 1977. This small force grew gradually and in 1987, the BDF was reorganized into distinct service branches, with the air wing becoming the new Bahrain Amiri Air Force (BAAF). After the elections on 14 February 2002, the state changed from an emirate to a kingdom resulting in the renaming of the Armed Forces. The BAAF was consequently given its current title, the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF).
Operations
The new Air Force was soon involved in its first combat operations during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait subsequent Gulf War. Air bases in Bahrain first hosted escaping Kuwait Air Force aircraft and, as air operations against Iraq began, F-5 and F-16 aircraft were used in both defensive and offensive air operations through the conclusion of the Gulf War on 28 February 1991.
Bahrain would again engage in combat operations as part of the Saudi Arabia-led Operation Decisive Storm, operating from bases in Saudi Arabia against Houthi rebel forces in Yemen during March and April 2015. Initially, fifteen F-16 aircraft were deployed as the RBAF contribution to combat forces in the operation. Bahrain's forces remained in Saudi Arabia in assistance of the coalition through 2015. An RBAF F-16 was lost when it crashed after a technical problem in December 2015.
Equipment
The BDF Air Wing was originally equipped with only helicopters, but it entered the ranks of jet fighter operators with the acquisition of Northrop F-5 fighters from the United States. These aircraft were of limited capability in comparison with the fighters entering service with other Gulf states such as Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain had sought to purchase a more advanced aircraft, and considered several American and European fighter aircraft including the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, Mirage 2000, and Tornado. They initially selected the F-16, but the United States only offered the F-16/79, a planned export version powered by the older and less powerful J79 engine, prompting the Air Wing to choose the F-5 instead as initial jet equipment. Once this limit was removed, an order for a dozen F-16C/D Fighting Falcons was placed under the Peace Crown program. Deliveries commenced on 23 May 1990, just before the country became involved in the Gulf War. The new F-16 unit was based at the newly constructed Sheik Isa Air Base alongside the F-5s. A second batch of ten F-16s commenced delivery in 2000 under the Peace Crown II program. The new aircraft represented a further increase in the air force's combat capabilities, as they were equipped to carry the AMRAAM missile, first used by the USAF in 1992. Air-to-air armament had been limited to the short-range AIM-9M Sidewinder missile and internal cannon through the Gulf War. After the war, the country began to acquire more advanced weapons, including the AIM-7M Sparrow radar-guided air-to-air missile and LANTIRN navigation and targeting pod for air-to-ground weapons that would also be acquired such as the GBU-10/12 laser guided bombs and AGM-65D/G Maverick air-to-ground missiles.
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 T67 Firefly and BAE Hawk trainers. The first trainers were delivered in October 2006.
Upgrade of the helicopter force has included new utility transports, and on 19 June 2007, Bahrain signed a letter of offer and acceptance for nine UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to be purchased as part of the Foreign Military Sales program through the United States Army. These are designated for use in a variety of roles, including combat search and rescue. They were the international launch customer for the UH-60M variant of the venerable S-70 helicopter family. Deliveries commenced on 1 December 2009
A single Sikorsky S-92 VVIP helicopter was purchased by the Air Force in 2007 and placed in service with the Bahrain Royal Flight.
In 2018, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.1 billion contract to produce 16 F-16 Viper Block 70 fighter aircraft for Bahrain, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a release.