Royal Air Force of Oman

The Royal Air Force of Oman is the air arm of the Sultan's Armed Forces.

History

Sultan of Oman's Air Force era

The Sultan of Oman's Air Force 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. 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 with NH90-TTH
RAFO Musannah	No. 14 Squadron 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
	No. 6 Squadron with Hawk 103, Hawk 103A & Hawk 203
	No. 15 Squadron 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	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, 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.