Royal Air Force of Oman
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Royal_Air_Force_of_Oman".

The Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) is the air arm of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces

History

The Sultan of Oman's Air Force (SOAF) 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.

Royal Air Force of Oman BAC 1-11 Model 485GD at RIAT 2008, England.

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 VC-10 and 32 Hawker Hunter ground attack aircraft. In 1977 Jaguar International joined the SOAF, followed in the 1980s by the BAe Hawk.

In 1990 the SOAF was renamed the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO).

In 2005 deliveries started of the F-16, the aircraft are equipped with improved GPS/INS. The aircraft can carry a further batch of advanced missiles; the AGM-88 HARM missile, JDAM, JSOW and WCMD. Block 50 aircraft are powered by the F110-GE-129 while the Block 52 jets use the F100-PW-229.

Equipment

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Agusta-Bell AB205	Italy	Search and Rescue Helicopter	AB205A-1	21	to be retired and replaced with NH90 and Lynx Mk 120
Agusta-Bell AB212 Twin Huey	Italy	Helicopter	AB212	3
AgustaWestland AW139	Italy	Helicopter	AW139	1	4 delivered of total ten. All for Royal Oman police aviation wing.
Airbus A320CJ	France	Transport	A320CJ	0	2 on order
BAC One-Eleven	United Kingdom	Transport	485	4	to be retired and replaced with A320s
Dornier Do 228	Germany	Light Transport	Do 228-100
Eurocopter AS 332 Super Puma	France  Germany  Spain	Helicopter	AS 332C AS 332L-1	3
BAe Hawk 103	United Kingdom	Trainer	Hawk 103	4
BAe Hawk 203	United Kingdom	Fighter	Hawk 203	11
Bell 206B JetRanger	United States	Helicopter	Bell 206	3
Bell HH-1H Iroquois	United States	Helicopter	HH-1H	20
Lockheed C-130 Hercules	United States	Tactical Transport	C-130H	3
Lockheed Martin F-16C/D	United States	Fighter	F-16C F-16D	12
NHI NH90	France	Helicopter		0	20 on order
PAC Super MFI-17 Mushshak	Pakistan	Trainer		7
Pilatus PC-9	Switzerland	Trainer	PC-9M	12
SEPECAT Jaguar	United Kingdom	Ground Attack	Jaguar S Jaguar B	2/16
Super Falke	Germany	Trainer		2
Short SC.7 Skyvan	United Kingdom	Light Transport	Skyvan 3M	2/10
Westland Lynx Mk 120	United Kingdom	Helicopter	Lynx 120	15

References

• The Sultan’s Armed Forces mentioning the Royal Air Force of Oman