The Royal Air Force of Oman (Arabic: سلاح الجو السلطاني عمان, romanized: Silāḥ al-Jaww as-Sulṭāniy ‘Umān or RAFO) is the air arm of the Sultan's Armed Forces.
| Royal Air Force of Oman | |
|---|---|
| |
Badge of the Royal Air Force of Oman | |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Country | Oman |
| Type | Air force |
| Role | Aerial warfare |
| Part of | Sultan's Armed Forces |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Sultan Haitham bin Tariq |
| Commander of the Air Force | Air Vice-Marshal Khamis bin Hammad Al-Ghafri |
| Insignia | |
| Fin flash | |
| Flag | |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | F-16 Fighting Falcon, Eurofighter Typhoon, BAe Hawk 203 |
| Helicopter | Super Lynx, NH90, Bell 429, Bell 206 |
| Trainer | BAe Hawk 103, Pilatus PC-9, PAC Super MFI-17 Mushshak |
| Transport | C-130 Hercules, Airbus A320, Dornier 228 |
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.
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.
Royal Air Force of Oman era
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 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. 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.
Oman was considering the purchase of either the Eurofighter Typhoon or the JAS 39 Gripen, 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.
Accidents
RAFO's deadliest aviation accident is on August 18, 2006, a Super Lynx was en route to save local sailors of a sinking boat in the Dhalkut region, but crashed into the Donkey's Head cliff face and rolled into the sea off the coast of Dhofar, killing all 6 occupants on board.
Bases
| Installation | Unit with aircraft type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RAFO Adam | No. 8 Squadron with Eurofighter Typhoon | |
| RAFO Khasab | No. 14 Squadron (det) with NH90-TTH | |
| RAFO Musannah | No. 14 Squadron (det) with NH90-TTH | |
| No. 15 Squadron with Super Lynx Mk.120 | ||
| No. 16 Squadron with C-130H & C-130J | ||
| No. 5 Squadron with C295M | ||
| RAFO Masirah | 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 | ||
| RAFO Seeb | Air base co-located within Muscat International Airport. | |
| No. 4 Squadron with A320-214CJ | ||
| RAFO Salalah | No. 3 Squadron with NH90-TTH, Bell 429 | |
| No. 5 Squadron with C295M | ||
| RAFO Thumrait | 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
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320CJ | China/France/Germany/USA | 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 | |
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | USA | Tactical transport | C-130H / C-130J-30 | 10 | 2 more ordered in August 2010. |
| Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon | USA | Fighter | F-16C/D | One lost to crash on 22 September 2013; Another crashed on 28 January 2026 | |
| Hawk 128 (Hawk T2) | UK | Advanced Jet Trainer | Hawk 128 | 8 | |
| Eurofighter Typhoon | UK | Fighter | Eurofighter Typhoon | 12 | |
| NHI NH90 | France | Helicopter | NH90 TTH | 20 | |
| PAC Super Mushshak | Pakistan | Trainer | MFI-17 Mushshak | 7 | 8 delivered. |
| Pilatus PC-9M | Switzerland | Trainer | PC-9M | 12 | |
| Westland Super Lynx | UK | Helicopter | Super Lynx Mk 120 | 15 | 16 delivered. One crashed on 18 August 2006. |
Retired
Previous aircraft flown by the Air Force included the SEPECAT Jaguar S/B (sold to India for spare parts), 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
Commanders
Air Vice-Marshal Erik Bennett of the Royal Air Force commanded the Sultan of Oman's Air Force from 1974 to 1990. In June 1990, Air Vice-Marshal Talib bin Meran bin Zaman Al-Raeesi became the first Omani national to command the air force. He was succeeded by Air Vice-Marshal Mohammed bin Mahfoodh bin Saad Al-Ardhi, who was appointed Commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman on 23 November 1992 and served through the 1990s and into the 2000s. On 1 February 2003, Air Vice-Marshal Yahya bin Rashid Al-Juma was appointed Commander. Air Vice-Marshal Khamis bin Hammad Al-Ghafri assumed command on 18 January 2021.
Ranks
Commissioned officer ranks
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Air Force of Oman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| مشیر Mushir | فريق أول Fariq 'awal | فريق Fariq | لواء Liwa | عميد Amid | عقيد Aqid | مقدم Muqaddam | رائد Ra'id | نقيب Naqib | ملازم أول Mulazim awwal | ملازم Mulazim | ||||||||||||||
Other ranks
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Air Force of Oman | No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| وکیل کتیبة Wakil katiba | وکیل Wakil | رقیب اول Raqib 'awal | رقیب Raqib | عریف Earif | نائب عریف Nayib earif | جندي Jundiun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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