The Royal Army of Oman is the ground forces component of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces. It was founded in 1907 as the Muscat Garrison. It has a current strength of 25,000 personnel.
Video Royal Army of Oman
History
Oman has a military history which dates back to the seventh century, when troops from the Alozd tribe were strong enough to help Abu Bakr, companion of the Islamic prophet Mohammed. At the beginning of the seventeenth century there were local forces associated with Ya'ariba dynasty. It was this dynasty, which forced the expulsion of Portuguese from the country in 1650. The Ya'ariba dynasty were responsible for most of the fortified site across what is now th Sultanate of Oman from Musandam in the north to the southern province of Dhofar.
The Royal Army of Oman officially traces its origins back to the formation of the Muscat Garrison in 1907, this local garrison force was developed and became the Muscat Infantry in 1921. An agreement between the Omani and the British governments in 1958 led to the creation of the Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF) and the creation of formally structured Omani army units. At the same time the United Kingdom promised to provide direct assistance in the development of the SAF and its land forces. During the 1960 and 1970s, army units fought in the Dhofar Rebellion alongside British units and it relied on embedded unit-level British military advisors, who saw combat alongside the units they were very much part of. At the end of the Dhofar Rebellion the Omani army became an independent service known as the Sultan of Oman Land Forces in 1976. In 1990, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said renamed his land forces the Royal Army of Oman (RAO). The RAO frequently exercises with the armed forces of fellow Gulf Cooperation Council nations and other strategic defense partners such as the US and UK.
Maps Royal Army of Oman
Ground Forces Organisation
According to the latest MoD Telephone Directory published by Omantel, RAO is structured as follows:
- HQ RAO at Muaskar al Murtafa'a (MAM) near Seeb
- Two infantry brigades:
- 11 Brigade (the southern brigade) based in Salalah
- 23 Brigade (the northern brigade) based at MAM
- The Sultan's Armour Units (MSO) based at Sultan bin Safy Camp at Shafa, near Izki
- Two regiments of main battle tanks (Challenger 2 and M60A3)
- Medium Reconnaissance Regiment (FV101 Scorpion)
- The Border Guard Brigade with a base in Haima in the Al Wusta Governate
- Infantry
- Muscat Regiment (MR) based at Bidbid - Mowag Piranha-equipped Mechanised Infantry
- Northern Frontier Regiment (NFR) based at Ibri and Buraimi
- Desert Regiment (DR) based at Ibra - Mowag Piranha-equipped Mechanised Infantry
- Jebel Regiment (JR) based at Nizwa
- Southern Regiment (KJ) one battalion based at Salalah near the Royal Palace on the Taqah Road
- Western Frontier Regiment (WFR) based at Thumrait
- Sultan of Oman's Parachute Regiment (SOPR) based at Rustaq
- Oman Reconnaissance Regiment based in Dhofar
- Border and Local Security Forces (light infantry role)
- Western Border Security Force based at Al Qabil
- Coastal Security Force based at Sur
- Musandam Security Force (MSF) based at Bukha
- Rural Security Forces based in Salalah (replaced Firqat Forces)
- Sultan of Oman's Artillery
- Northern artillery units based at Izki
- Southern artillery units based at Thumrait in Dhofar
- SAF Signals based in MAM (with units supporting 11 Brigade)
- SAF Engineers based in MAM (with units supporting 11 Brigade)
- SAF Transport based in Mabela (with units supporting 11 Brigade)
- SAF Electrical & Mechanical Engineers based in MAM (with units supporting 11 Brigade)
- SAF Ordnance based in MAM (with units supporting 11 Brigade)
- SAF Medical Services main hospitals at Al Khoudh (north) and Umm al Ghawarif (south) and other base locations
- Training Establishments
- National Defence College Bayt al Falaj, Ruwi, Muscat
- Military Technical College near Seeb Airport
- Sultan Qaboos Military College (KSQA) including the RAO Officer Training School based at Aydem in Dhofar
- Sultan Armed Forces Training Regiment
- Battle Training Centre - Saiq, Jebel al Akhdhar
Garrison Locations
Based on locational evidence given in Omantel telephone directory listings (telephone number associations), historical recollections of British servicemen and analysis of Google Earth and Google Map imagery and cartographic data the following RAO garrisons have been identified:
Equipment
In 2008 Oman spent 7.7% of GDP on military expenditures.
Oman has one armored brigade (MSO) equipped with the Challenger 2 and the M60A1 and M60A3 Patton tanks.
Between 2001 and 2004 Oman received 174 amphibious light armored vehicles and more than 80 armored VBL from France.
In May 2013 the United States announced a deal with Oman valued at $2.1 billion to supply a ground-based air defense system.
Armoured vehicles
- Challenger 2 main battle tank (38)
- Challenger Armored Recovery and Repair Vehicle (4)
- M60A1 (6)
- M60A3 (73)
- M88A-1 Recovery (1)
- M728 Recovery (31)
- B1 Centauro with 120 mm gun (Hitfact) (9) in service 2009-10
- BAE Piranha II 8x8 LAV's (175)
- Panhard VBL (132) including 8 with BGM-71 TOW ATGM Missile launcher.
- Panhard VAB 4x4 &6x6 including 6 with 2RM 120mm heavy mortar\ 6 VAB-VCI and 8 VAB-VTT (56)
- Fahd APC (31-100)
- WZ-551B (50)
- HMMWV Hummer
- Commando V100 4x4 (15)
- FV101 Scorpion (37)
- FV103 Spartan (34)
- FV105 Sultan (31)
- FV106 Samson (30)
- Alvis Stormer (10)
- Saxon (22)
- Cadillac Gage Commando (20)
- Russia BTR-80-?
- VBC-90 (19)
- Turkey FNSS PARS III 8x8 (1)
Trucks
- MAN TGA heavy trucks
- ACMAT VLRA 6x6
- ACMAT VLRA 4x4
- Landrover 4x4
Field Artillery
- Type-90A 122mm MRLs (12)
- G6 howitzers (24)
- M109A2 howitzers (15) - status unknown
- L118 Light Guns (39)
- M-46 130mm guns (15)
- Type 59-1 130mm guns (12)
- FH70 155mm howitzers (12)
- 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) (30)
- L16 81mm Mortars
- M102 105mm howitzers (36)
- Brandt 120mm mortars (12)
- 2R2M 120mm (SP on VAB) mortar (14)
- M30 107mm mortars (SP on M-106A-2 APCs) (12)
- BGM-71A/C improved TOW ATGMs (26 launchers, 220 missiles)
- BGM-71F TOW-2B ATGMs (18 launchers, 562 missiles)
- FGM-148 ATGMs (30 launchers, 250 missiles)
- MILAN ATGMs (32-50 launchers)
- LAW 80 light ATRLs
- RPG-7V light ATRLs
Air Defense
- Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon GDF-007 (10)
- Skyguard-AD system (Aspide SAMs+Oerlikon GDF-002 35mm twin AAGs)
- Bofors 40mm gun
- VDAA 2x20mm SP-AAGs (9)
- ZU-23 2x23mm AAGs (4-5)
- M-167A2 VADS 20mm AAG
- SHORAR radar system (2) - associated with Mistral SAM
- Blindfire radar systems for Rapier missiles (18)
- Skyguard-radar systems for Skyguard A\D systems (5)
- Cymbeline artillery location radar (3)
- Crotale NG SAM
- Avenger SP-air defense system-on order (18)
- Rapier MK-2\Jernas SAMs (5) launchers\600 Rapier-1+ 800 Rapier-2 missiles.
- Mistral anti-aircraft missile (54) launchers\230 missiles.
- Blowpipe MANPADs-200 missiles.
- Javelin MANPADs (30) launchers\280 missiles.
- SA-7 Grail MANPADs (34)
- NASAMS
- BAMSE
- THAAD anti-missile system
Small arms
- Browning Hi-Power MK-2 Pistol
- SIG Sauer P226
- S&W M38
- INSAS Standard Assault Rifle of Oman Army
- Steyr AUG
- M16A1/A2/A4 Service rifle
- M4 carbine
- Bushmaster Carbon 15
- SIG SG 540
- FN FAL 50-00/L1A1
- H&K G3
- FN Minimi SAW
- FN MAG Machine gun
- M2 BrowningHB Machine gun
- M203 grenade launcher
- M79 grenade launcher
- Accuracy International Arctic Warfare
- Barrett M82
- H&K MP5A3
- H&K MP7A1
- Sterling MK-IV (L2A3)
Out of service equipment
- 24x Chieftain tank-MK-5 United Kingdom - phased out, status unknown
- 15x Daimler Ferret Armoured Car FV-702 4x4 scout car United Kingdom
- 10x Alvis Saracen FV-603 6x6 APC United Kingdom
- 24x QF-25 87.6mm towed howitzer United Kingdom
- 4x 5.5 Inch MK-3\140mm Towed-gun United Kingdom
- 38x Alvis Saladin United Kingdom-Scorpion CVRT United Kingdom replaced these AFVs last paraded in 1981
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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