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Further Reading

Royal Bahraini Air Force

The Bahraini air force began operations in 1977 with a gradually expanding fleet of helicopters. from the mid-80s it had been slowly building up its defense assets with the delivery of one squadron of F-5E/Fs. The backbone of the fighter force is formed by two squadrons of F-16C/Ds delivered in two batches between 1990 and 2001. The jet-fleet issupplemented by a number of BAE Systems Hawk 100s that were ordered in July 2002. The helicopter fleet consists of 24 Bell AH-1E Cobra attack helicopters. The operational status of the Bell 212s and MBB Bo105s remains uncertain. To supplement the Cobra fleet, the Bahraini government has shown interest in the procurement of 17 additional surplus US AH-1Fs from which 14 would eventually enter service. I-Hawk SAMs are on order as the principal air defense weapon.

After initially being denied shoulder-fired Stinger SAMs by congressional objections, Bahrain was allowed to purchase the weapons on a provisional basis and later to retain them permanently. The main air force base is adjacent to Bahrain International Airport on Al Muharraq. Another base developed for use in the Persian Gulf War is available near the southern tip of Bahrain; as of 1992, it was being used for servicing carrier-based United States aircraft.

By December 2009 there were concerns about Bahrain's ability to fund the USD $400 million Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) avionics upgrade for its existing fleet of F-16s. It was important for Bahrain to extend the viable service life of these aircraft as long as possible, as the Kingdom could not afford to purchase new aircraft. There was a difficult budgetary environment for defense expenditures in Bahrain, with most government funding going to social programs. Brigadier General Yousef Ahmed Malalla, Director of Planning, Organization, and Information Technology for the Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF), indicated that Bahrain had already allocated USD $55 million to pay for the basic Service Life Extension (SLE) for the aircraft's engines, but the budget would not support additional expenditures to support CCIP. Brigadier General Shaikh Hamad Abdulla Al Khalifa, Commander of the Royal Bahraini Air Force, said Bahrain needed assistance in modernizing its F-16s in order to continue to support coalition operations.

By 2010 the Royal Bahraini Air Force ws composed of 1,500 personnel and possesses both fixed and rotary wing combat aircraft, including the F-16C/D, the F-5E/F, the AH-1E, and the S-70A. It has two bases; one in Shaikh Isa and the other located in Riffa, and it is considered an effective defensive force among world air forces, although it only has three fighter squadrons and four helicopter squadrons. Bahrain must rely on its GCC neighbors in order to train its air force personnel and also cooperates with the GCC in training exercises such as "Gulf Spears".

The Royal Bahraini Air Force is working towards achieving full operational capability with its new Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters, eight of which were delivered in early September 2010. Formed at Riffa air base, the air force's 12 Sqn will operate the Black Hawks as replacements for the service's 11 Agusta/Bell AB212s. One of the type's main uses will be search and rescue operations at sea.