Royal Air Force of Oman

Royal Air Force of Oman
Royal Air Force of Oman
	;
Founded	March 1959-present
Country	Oman
Commanders
Commander of the RAFO	Air Vice-Marshal Yahya Rasheed Al-Juma
Insignia
Roundel
Fin Flash
Aircraft flown
Fighter	Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, SEPECAT Jaguar S/B
Trainer	BAe Hawk 103, Pilatus PC-9M, PAC Super MFI-17 Mushshak
Transport	Airbus A320CJ, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Dornier Do 228-100

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"RAFO" redirects here. For a Romanian oil refinery, see RAFO Oneşti.

The Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) (Al-Quwwat al-Jawiyya al-Sultaniyya al-'Umaniyya) is the air arm of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces

[edit] 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 lead in 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.

Oman was considering the purchase of either Eurofighter Typhoon or JAS 39 Gripen aircraft^[1], however 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.^[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-16s C/Ds already in service.^[3]

A Royal Air Force of Oman Jaguar intercepting an Il-38 in 1987.
Royal Air Force of Oman BAC 1-11 Model 485GD at RIAT 2008, UK.
Lockheed Hercules at RIAT 2010
Omani Jaguars outbound over Seeb coast
Royal Omani Air Force Hawker Hunter at RAF Museum in Hendon
Hawker Siddeley Hunter FR.10 at the RAF Museum in London. This aircraft formerly served as part of The Royal Air Force of Oman

[edit] Equipment

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service^[4]	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.
Agusta-Bell AB212 Twin Huey	Italy	helicopter	AB212	3
AgustaWestland AW139	Italy	helicopter	AW139	4(6)	10 purchased for Royal Oman Police aviation wing.
Airbus A320CJ	France	transport	A320CJ	2
BAe Hawk 103	United Kingdom	trainer	Hawk 103	4	A total of 5 delivered, including 1 ex-Canadian.
BAe Hawk 203	United Kingdom	fighter	Hawk 203	11	12 delivered
Bell 206B JetRanger	United States	helicopter	Bell 206	3	7 delivered.
Bell 214\214ST	United States	utility helicopter	11 (5 Bell 214 + 6 Bell 214ST)
Bell HH-1H Iroquois	United States	helicopter	HH-1H	20
Dornier Do 228-100	Germany	light transport	Do 228-100	2
Eurocopter AS 550 Fennec	France	helicopter	AS 550	3	For Omani Royal Flight.
Eurocopter EC 225 Super Puma	France	helicopter	EC 225	4	Transferred to Air Force from Omani Royal Flight.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules	United States	tactical transport	C-130H C-130J-30	3 0	One C-130J-30 to be delivered in mid-2012.^[5] 2 more ordered in August 2010.^[6]
Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon	United States	fighter	F-16C F-16D	8(10) 4(2)	December 2011 purchase of 12 additional F-16 Block 50^[7]
NHI NH90	France	helicopter		20
PAC Super MFI-17 Mushshak	Pakistan	trainer		7	8 delivered.
Pilatus PC-9M	Switzerland	trainer	PC-9M	12
Scheibe Super-Falke	Germany	trainer		2
SEPECAT Jaguar S/B	United Kingdom	ground attack	Jaguar S Jaguar B	2 16	A total of 27 SEPECAT Jaguar deliverd.^[8]^[9]^[10]
Short SC.7 Skyvan 3M	United Kingdom	light Transport	Skyvan 3M	12
Westland Lynx Mk 120	United Kingdom	helicopter	Lynx Mk 120	15
Total				224+