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 (2015–present)|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:- 1 Armoured Brigade
- * 2 armoured battalions
- * 1 recon battalion
- 1 Mechanized Infantry Brigade
- * 2 mechanized infantry battalions
- * 1 infantry battalion
- 1 Artillery Brigade
- * 6 artillery batteries
- 1 air defence battalion
- 1 special forces battalion
Equipment
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 United [States Department of State|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
| Image | Name | Class | Origin | Number | Notes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| YPR-765 | IFV |  United StatesWeaponsAdditional equipment on order by the army include:
Retired equipment were made in the 1950s and 1960s:
|