Royal Bahraini Army


The Royal Bahraini Army is the ground force component of the Bahrain Defence Force. The army's current strength is 20,000 personnel. It is headed by Lieutenant General Khalifa bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa.

History

Bahraini ground troops took part in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in the Yemeni Yemeni [Civil War |civil war]. In September 2015, five Bahraini soldiers guarding the Yemeni–Saudi Arabian border were killed in unspecified circumstances. Another three died in Yemen afterwards.

Formation

The army consists of 3 brigades and 2 battalions:
The RBA has a mix of equipment purchased in the 1970s and early 1990s. They are currently modernizing some of their equipment. Most purchases in the past have been second hand from the United States or the United Kingdom. In the past few years, Bahrain has begun developing military capabilities, through the purchase of equipment from Turkey, including armoured vehicles such as Otokar Arma and Otokar Akrep.
In 2019, the U.S. State Department cleared a $2.5 billion sale of the Patriot missile-defense system to Bahrain. The deal would include 60 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missiles, 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles with canisters, nine M903 launchers, two AN/MPQ-65 radar sets, control stations and other associated equipment.
8 M-ATV light armored vehicles in service

Armoured fighting vehicles

ImageNameClassOriginNumberNotes
YPR-765IFVUnited States

Air Defense Systems

Artillery

Anti-tank Weapons

Weapons

Additional equipment on order by the army include:
Type/ClassQuantityOriginDetails
Logistics Vehicle System heavy tactical vehicle system100+United StatesTransport of armored vehicles and tanks
M939 Truck 6x6 trucks100+United States
MAN Truck & Bus military transport200+United States
Toyota Coaster troops transport100+Japan

Retired equipment were made in the 1950s and 1960s:
Type/ClassQuantityOriginDetails
Ferret Armoured Fighting Vehicle10UK
Alvis Saladin10UK