| Royal Air Force of Oman سلاح الجو السلطاني عمان | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | March 1959-present |
| Country | Oman |
| Commanders | |
| Commander of the RAFO | Air Vice-Marshal Matar bin Ali Al Obaidani |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel of the former SOAF (Sultan of Oman's Air Force) |
 |
| RAFO Fin Flash |
 |
| Ensign of the former SOAF (Sultan of Oman's Air Force) |
 |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | SEPECAT Jaguar S/B |
| Fighter | Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon / BAe Hawk 203 |
| Trainer | BAe Hawk 103, Pilatus PC-9M, PAC Super MFI-17 Mushshak |
| Transport | Airbus A320CJ, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Dornier Do 228-100 |
The Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO — سلاح الجو السلطاني عمان - Silāḥ al-Jaww as-Sulṭāniy ‘Umān) is the air arm of the Armed Forces of Oman
History[]
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.
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.
In 1990 the SOAF was renamed the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO). In 1993 and 1994 the RAFO replaced its Hawker Hunters with four BAE Hawk Mk 103 fighter-trainers and 12 single-seat Hawk Mk 203, equipped with Westinghouse APG-66H radar, as light ground attack/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 fighters until the second decade of the 21st centuary. A contact was placed with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence to upgrade the avionics of the Jaguar aircraft for $40 million. In 2005 deliveries started of the F-16, equipped with improved GPS/INS. The aircraft can carry a further batch of advanced missiles; the AGM-88 HARM missile, JDAM, JSOW and WCMD. Block 50 aircraft are powered by the F110-GE-129 while the Block 52 jets use the F100-PW-229.
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 3.5 Billion USD. In addition to the new fighters, the contract included upgrading existing 12 F-16 C/D in the RAFO inventory.[1] 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-16s C/Ds already in service.[2]
Oman was considering the purchase of either Eurofighter Typhoon or JAS 39 Gripen aircraft,[3] but on the 21st of December 2012 a £2.5 billion deal was signed in Muscat to supply RAFO with 12 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and 8 BAE Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft, the delivery should start by 2017.[4]
Equipment[]
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[5] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agusta-Bell AB205A-1 | Italy | search and rescue helicopter | AB205A-1 | 21 | To be retired and replaced with NH90 and Lynx Mk 120. A total of 37 delivered and 3 on loan from Iran. |
| AgustaWestland AW139 | Italy | helicopter | AW139 | 10 | 10 purchased for Royal Oman Police aviation wing. |
| Airbus A320CJ | transport | A320CJ | 2 | ||
| BAe Hawk 103 | UK | trainer | Hawk 103 | 4 | A total of 5 delivered, including 1 ex-Canadian. |
| BAe Hawk 203 | UK | fighter | Hawk 203 | 11 | |
| Bell 206B JetRanger | USA | helicopter | Bell 206 | 5 | 7 delivered. |
| Bell 214\214ST | USA | utility helicopter | Bell 214 Bell 214ST |
5 6 |
|
| Bell HH-1H Iroquois | USA | helicopter | HH-1H | 20 | |
| Dornier Do 228-100 | Germany | light transport | Do 228-100 | 2 | |
| Eurocopter AS 550 Fennec | helicopter | AS 550 | 3 | Delivered To Omani Royal Flight. | |
| Eurocopter EC 225 Super Puma | helicopter | EC 225 | 6 | Delivered to Omani Royal Flight. | |
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | USA | tactical transport | C-130H C-130J-30 |
6 4 |
2 more ordered in August 2010.[6] |
| Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon | USA | fighter | F-16C/D | 12 | 12 more on order and 1 lost to crash killing its pilot on Sunday 22/9/2013 status of aircraft is unknown but believed to be damaged beyond repair [7][8] |
| Hawk 128 (Hawk T2) | UK | Advanced Jet Trainer | Hawk 128 | 8 on order. | |
| Eurofighter Typhoon | UK | fighter | Eurofighter Typhoon | 12 on order. Manufacturing will begin in 2014 with delivery expected in 2017.[9] | |
| NHI NH90 | helicopter | 11 | 8 to be delivered, The RAFO have up to now ordered 20 NH90 TTH in order to replace its fleet of aging AB205A/206/212/214. | ||
| PAC Super MFI-17 Mushshak | Pakistan | trainer | 7 | 8 delivered. | |
| Pilatus PC-9M | Switzerland | trainer | PC-9M | 12 | |
| SEPECAT Jaguar S/B | ground attack | Jaguar S/B | 22 | A total of 27 SEPECAT Jaguar delivered.[10][11][12]
Two lost to crash on 11/9/2013 after a Mid-Air collision killing one pilot and the other ejected but sustained injuries.[13] | |
| Short SC.7 Skyvan 3M | UK | light Transport | Skyvan 3M | 12 | |
| Westland Super Lynx | UK | helicopter | Super Lynx Mk. 120 | 15 | 16 Delivered.
1 lost to crash 2006.08.18.[14] |
| Total | 200+ |
AAMs[]
- 70 MBDA R.550 Magic
- 550 AIM-9P\L Sidewinder
- 50 AIM-120 AMRAAM
- 310 AIM-9M Sidewinder
AGMs[]
- 20 AGM-84D
- 80 AGM-65D\G Maverick
Bombs[]
- BL-755
- GBU-31\38
- (84) JDAM (GBU-13\32)
- Paveway-II (150) (GBU-10\12\16)
- CBU-97 SFW350 (50)
Avionics\Pods[]
- 2 TARS
- 7 Sniper AN-AAQ-33
- AN-ALE-47
- AN-ALQ-211
- JHMCS Pilot helmet
- Topowl
- TWE
- 12 AN\APG-66 combat aircraft radars (forF-16C\D)
Target Drones[]
- 53 TTL BTT-3 Banshee
Radars[]
- AR-15
- 4x S-713 Martello 3-D
- 2x S-600
- 1x Watchman
Historical Aircraft[]
- 33 Hawker Hunter FGA.73\73A\73B, FR.10, T.66
- 4 Douglas C-47 Dakota
- 5 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
- 6 de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
- 4 de Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo
- 7 Vickers Viscount
- 9 Percival Provost Mk 52
- 4 Westland Wessex HC.2
- 25 BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk 82\82A
- 2 Pilatus PC-6 Porter
- 4 FFA AS-202 Bravo
- 4 Scottish Aviation Pioneer
- 8 Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander
- 3 BAe BAC-1-11
- 2 Scheibe Super-Falke[15]
- 3 Agusta-Bell AB212 Twin Huey[16]
References[]
- ↑ http://www.dsca.mil/PressReleases/36-b/2010/Oman_10-40.pdf
- ↑ Hoyle, Craig. "Omani F-16 deal means continued wait for Eurofighter." Flight International via flightglobal.com, 14 December 2011. Retrieved: 18 December 2011.
- ↑ Royal Air Force of Oman, JAS 39 Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon. Tactical Report (2010-06-03). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ↑ BBC News - BAE Systems wins £2.5bn Oman Hawk and Typhoon contract. Bbc.co.uk (2012-12-21). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- ↑ Omani military aviation OrBat
- ↑ "The C-130J: New Hercules & Old Bottlenecks". http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/the-c-130j-new-hercules-old-bottlenecks-03582/. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/23/oman-airman-dies-in-second-training-accident-in-weeks/
- ↑ http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130923/DEFREG04/309230021/Oman-Airman-Dies-Second-Training-Accident-Weeks?odyssey=nav%7Chead
- ↑ "BAE Systems wins £2.5bn Oman Hawk and Typhoon contract". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20808517. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
- ↑ Oman shows interest in Eurofighter Typhoon
- ↑ Oman 'wants to buy' Eurofighter planes from the UK BBC, 2 April 2010
- ↑ Oman edges closer to Typhoon deal, says UK Flightglobal, 9 April 2010
- ↑ http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/oman/oman-air-force-pilot-killed-1.1230082
- ↑ http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/dblist2.php
- ↑ http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/tag/oman-air-force
- ↑ http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/tag/oman-air-force
'World aircraft information files Brightstar publishing File 330 Sheet 1
The original article can be found at Royal Air Force of Oman and the edit history here.