Royal Bahrain Naval Force

Royal Bahrain Naval Force
سلاح البحرية الملكية البحرينية
Active ? - Present
Country  Bahrain
Branch Naval Force
Size 1770 (Navy and Coastguard)
Part of Ministry of Defense
Bahrain Defense Force
Nickname(s) RBNF
Engagements Invasion of Kuwait
Gulf War
Commanders
Commander of Navy Yusuf al-Maluallah
Insignia
Naval Ensign
Naval Flag

The Royal Bahrain Naval Force (RBNF) (previously known as Bahrain Defense Force, Naval Branch), is the maritime branch of the Bahrain Defense Force. The Commander of the Navy is Lieutenant Commander Yusuf al-Maluallah. The navy consists of 7 combat vessels, 31 patrol craft, 10 landing ships and over 700 personnel. The Fleet is based at Mina Sulman Naval Base and has a flight wing which can operate off the corvettes, consisting of two MBB BO-105 helicopters. The flagship of the RBNF is the vessel RBNS Sabha, an American-built missile frigate given to the state as a gift in 1996.

Fleet

Type/ClassQuantityOriginIn serviceDetails
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate (RBNS Sabha)1 United States1981 - Present4 Harpoon SSMs, 1 MBB BO-105 shipboard helicopter, and SM-1MR SAMs.[1]
Al-Manama class Lürssen FPB 62 Guided-Missile Patrol Combatants2 Germany1988 - Present4 MM40 Exocets.[1][2]
Ahmed Al Fateh class Lürssen TNC 45 Guided-Missile Patrol Craft4 Germany1984 - Present4 MM40 Exocets[1]
Al Riffa class Lürssen FPB 38 Patrol Craft2 Germany1982 - Present[1]
Al Jarim Swiftships 65 Patrol Boat2 United States1982 - Present[1]
Mark V Special Operations Craft2 United States?5 more on order[3]
BMT Group 18m patrol boat6 UK2013 - PresentBuilt in Turkey, option for 6 more[4]
Wasp-112   
Wasp-202   
Wasp-301   
VT Group VT-Halmatic 204 Qatar  
VT Group VT-Halmatic 1606 Qatar  
Fairey Marine Swordsman4 United Kingdom  
steel landing craft4 United Arab Emirates2009+2 42-meter and 2 16-meter
LCU-14664 United States  
Fairey Marine LCU1 United Kingdom  
Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company Landing craft1 Bahrain201634.5m in overall length,[5] 1 more could be ordered

Aircraft

The naval force operates a single Bo 105CBS-4 helicopter.[6]

Future

Sep. 8, 2017 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Bahrain for two 35 Meter Fast Patrol Boats. The estimated cost is $60.25 million.[7]

Bahrain may purchase another frigate from the USA, USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG-49) could be purchased in 2019 so that Bahrain has two frigates[8].

Bases

RBNS Sabha in April 2008.
  • Mina Salman Naval Base is a facility currently shared with the United States Navy and is used as a ship and submarine logistic support base for the entire US Fifth Fleet. It was opened in the 1980s as cargo facility and is now solely used as a naval port.
  • Manama Naval Base is another key US Navy installation and formerly home to HMS Juffair. It is not used by RBNF.
  • RBNF also operates a shipyard that is shared with several other neighbouring countries.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Wertheim, Eric (2007). The Naval Institute guide to combat fleets of the world : their ships, aircraft, and systems (15th ed.). Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 9781591149552.
  2. ↑ The Naval Balance of Power: The Persian Gulf Archived 2012-10-30 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-04-26. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
  4. ↑ "BMT Partners with Ares Shipyard to Deliver Patrol Boats for Bahrain Coast Guard". Navyrecognition.com. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "ASRY construct new landing craft". Newsofbahrain.com. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Bahrain : Armed Forces Overviews". Scramble,nl. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  7. ↑ "Bahrain – 35 Meter Fast Patrol Boats - The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency". Dsca.mil. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "CBO: Navy frigate sale to Bahrain has $80M price tag". Insidedefense.com. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.