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Oman Organization and Equipment of the Armed Forces
Sultan Qabus ibn Said retained for himself the
positions of
prime minister and minister of defense. The sultan's
uncle, Fahar
ibn Taimur Al Said, served as deputy prime minister for
security
and defense. Between 1970 and 1987, the armed forces
commander,
as well as the heads of the air force and navy, were
British
generals and admirals on loan. As of early 1993, the chief
of
staff and the three service commanders were Omanis. As of
1992,
personnel strength of the Royal Armed Forces (as they were
renamed--RAF) had reached about 35,700, including 6,000
royal
household troops--a 4,500 Royal Guard of Oman (RGO)
brigade, two
Special Forces regiments totaling 700 trained by British
air
commandos, and 800 miscellaneous other personnel--and
foreign
personnel, who are believed to number about 3,700. The
army,
known as the Royal Oman Land Forces (ROLF), is the largest
of the
service branches with a strength of 20,000. The ROLF is
organized
into regiments, although each regiment is of no more than
battalion size. It includes two armored regiments composed
of
three tank squadrons; one armored reconnaissance regiment
composed of three armored car squadrons; eight infantry
regiments, three of which are staffed by Baluchis; four
artillery
regiments; one air defense regiment of two batteries; one
infantry reconnaissance regiment composed of three
reconnaissance
companies; two independent reconnaissance companies; one
airborne
regiment; and one field engineering regiment of three
squadrons.
A small tribal militia of rifle company strength on the
Musandam
Peninsula is known as the Musandam Security Force.
One divisional headquarters and two brigade
headquarters are
maintained, within which the independent regiments can be
combined into larger fighting units. The separate royal
household
troops consist of the RGO, the Special Forces elements,
and
personnel to staff the royal yacht and a number of
transport
aircraft and helicopters. The RGO, an elite corps with the
primary function of protecting the sultan and performing
ceremonial duties, has a separate identity within the ROLF
but is
trained to operate in the field alongside other army
formations.
The two tank squadrons are equipped with United States
M-60A1
and M-60A3 tanks and with British Chieftains. The armored
car
squadrons are outfitted with British Scorpion light tanks
and
French VBC-90s. The ROLF lacks armored equipment for troop
movement, depending on Austrian Steyr cross-country
vehicles. In
July 1991, Oman ordered US$150 million worth of armored
vehicles
from the United States. The ROLF has a variety of towed
artillery
pieces; its principal antitank weapons are TOW and Milan
guided
missiles. Air defense is provided by a variety of guns and
shoulder-fired SAMs (see
table 42, Appendix).
Initially, nearly all the army officers and men were
Baluchis
from Pakistan, except for senior commanders, who were
British. As
of early 1993, most of the officers were Omanis, although
British
involvement continued, especially in the armored regiment.
The
training battalion of the RAF conducts recruit training
for all
services at the RAF training center near Muscat. Officer
candidates--who must serve at least one year in the
enlisted
ranks--attend the Sultan Qabus Military College and the
Officers'
Training School. In 1988 the first class of twenty
officers
graduated from the Sultan's Armed Forces Command and Staff
College near Muscat. This is a triservice school to
prepare midranking officers for senior command and staff
appointments.
Officers of other government security services and some
civilian
officials also attend.
The Royal Oman Navy (RON), with a strength of 3,000 in
1992,
has its headquarters at As Sib, thirty-six kilometers west
of
Muscat. The principal naval establishment is the Said ibn
Sultan
Naval Base, completed in 1987, at Wudham Alwa near As Sib.
One of
the largest engineering projects ever undertaken in Oman,
it
provides a home port for the RON fleet, training
facilities, and
workshops for carrying out all maintenance and repair
activities.
The Naval Training Center, located at the base, offers
entrylevel courses for officers and enlisted personnel, as well
as
specialized branch training. Initially, the navy was
staffed
almost entirely by British officers and Pakistani NCOs. By
the
late 1980s, most ship commanders were Omanis, although
many
Pakistani and British technical personnel remained.
The navy's main combat vessels are four Province-class
missile boats built by Vosper Thornycroft. Armed with
Exocet
antiship missiles and 76mm guns, the last ship was
delivered in
1989. The navy also operates four Brook Marine fast-attack
craft
with 76mm guns and four inshore patrol craft. The navy is
well
equipped for amphibious operations and has one 2,500-ton
landing
ship capable of transporting sixty-ton tanks and three
LCMs
(landing craft-mechanized). Oman has ordered two corvettes
with
eight Exocet missiles, scheduled for delivery from Britain
in
1995-96, and hopes to remedy its lack of minesweepers.
The Royal Oman Air Force (ROAF) had a strength of about
3,500
in 1992. Its forty-four combat aircraft of British
manufacture
consist of two fighter-ground attack squadrons of modern
Jaguars,
a ground attack and reconnaissance squadron of older
Hunters, and
a squadron of Strikemasters and Defenders for
counterinsurgency,
maritime reconnaissance, and training purposes. The air
force is
fairly well equipped with three transport squadrons and
two
squadrons of helicopters for troop transport and medical
transport. Rapier SAMs are linked to an integrated air
control
and early warning network based on a Martello radar
system.
Skyvan aircraft fitted with radar and special navigational
gear
conduct maritime reconnaissance and antipollution patrols.
The
principal air bases are at Thamarit in the south and on
Masirah.
Others are collocated with the international airport at As
Sib,
at Al Khasab on the Musandam Peninsula, at Nazwah, and at
Salalah. Officer and pilot training takes place at the
Sultan
Qabus Air Academy on Masirah. Pilots of fighter aircraft
receive
advanced training in Britain.
Data as of January 1993
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