Royal Navy of Oman
Royal Navy of Oman | |
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البحرية السلطانية العمانية | |
amphibious warfare vessels 2 auxiliary ships | |
Insignia | |
Naval Ensign of Oman |
The Royal Navy of Oman (
The origin of the Royal Navy of Oman is traceable to the reign of Imam Ghassan bin Abdullah (807–824 CE). He was the first ruler of Oman to possess a Navy, with a standing royal navy of Oman being formally established in 1650.[4]
History
The origin of the Royal Navy of Oman can be traced to the reign of Imam Ghassan bin Abdullah (807–824 CE). He was the first ruler of Oman to possess a Navy. He commissioned ships in order to fend off pirates operating along the western shores of the Indian Ocean who were conducting raids along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula.[1]
The Omani Navy dominated the Western Indian Ocean for many years thereafter until the arrival of the Portuguese that changed the balance of sea power in the region. Beginning in 1508 with the invasion of Oman by the Portuguese the conflict came to end in 1515 with the loss of Oman’s maritime trade routes.[1]
Beginning in 1624, Oman started to recover its lost naval ports under Imam ‘s Nasir bin Murshid (1624–1649), and Sultan bin Saif (1649–1688) the objective of the Omani navy's role was force out the Portuguese from their bases in Oman that was achieved by 1650.[5]
The Royal Oman Navy fell into another period of neglect until the reign of Ahmed bin Said. (1749–1783). He began to rebuild the Omani Navy and had commissioned a fleet of four ships, that were equipped with 40 guns, additionally, he had 25 coastal boats built. A stronger navy was rebuilt between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Its main purpose was to then protect Oman’s overseas territories.[5]
During the reign of
From 1862, the
During the late 1960s, the Royal Oman Navy existed as the naval branch of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) instead of as a separate standing navy. In 1971 the British Protectorate of Oman came to an end, and following the discovery of oil fields leading to the sale of oil abroad, that provided much-needed investment in modernizing the navy and growing the existing fleet.[5]
The main naval base moved from Sultan Bin Ahmed Naval Base in
The Royal Oman Navy does not have a marine corps or any naval infantry formations, though it has multiple amphibious warfare ships. A modernization program is ongoing in order to protect the coastline as well as the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The British Royal Navy, in 2011, helped train corvette crews with its Flag Officer Sea Training.[3]
Ships
Class | Photo | Type | Displacement | Ships | Hull Number | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Corvettes (5) | |||||||||
Khareef class | Corvette | 2,660 tons | Al Shamikh | Q40 | BAE Systems
|
22 July 2009 | October 2013 | 8 MM-40 anti-ship missiles, 12 VL Mica anti-aircraft missiles | |
Al Rahmani | Q41 | 23 July 2010 | March 2014 | ||||||
Al Rasikh | Q42 | 27 June 2011 | May 2014 | ||||||
Qahir class | 1,450 tons | Qahir Al Amwaj | C31 (ex Q31) | Vosper Thornycroft
|
21 September 1994 | 3 September 1996 | 8 MM-40 anti-ship missiles, 1 × 8 Crotale anti-aircraft missiles
Muheet Project | ||
Al Mua'zzar | C32 (ex Q32) | 26 September 1995 | 13 April 1997 | ||||||
Patrol Vessels (12 in service) | |||||||||
Al-Ofouq class | Patrol vessel | 1,100 tons | Al-Seeb | Z20 | ST Marine | 29 January 2014 | 31 March 2015 | 1 × 76 mm Oto Melara cannon, 2 × 30 mm Oto Melara Marlin-WS
| |
Al-Shinas | Z21 | 14 June 2014 | |||||||
Sadh | Z22 | 17 September 2014 | |||||||
Khassab | Z23 | 24 June 2016 | 2 August 2016 | ||||||
Province class | Fast attack craft | 390 tons | Dhofar | B10 | Vosper Thornycroft
|
1982 | 6–8 MM-40 anti-ship missiles | ||
Al Sharquiyah | B11 | 1983 | |||||||
Al Bat'nah | B12 | 1984 | |||||||
Mussandam | B14 | 1989 | |||||||
Al Bushra class | Patrol vessel | 475 tons | Al Bushra | B1 (ex Z1) | CMN | 1995 | Mawj Project | ||
Al Mansoor | B2 (ex Z2) | 1995 | |||||||
Al Najah | B3 (ex Z3) | 1996 | |||||||
Al Mabrukah class | Patrol ship | 785 tons | Al Mabrukah | Q30 (ex A1) | Brooke Marine | 7 April 1970 | 1971 | Former royal yacht converted to training ship; serving as a patrol ship since 1997 | |
Amphibious Ships (3 in service) | |||||||||
Fulk Al Salamah class | Amphibious transport | 10,864 tons | Fulk al Salamah | L3 | Bremer Vulkan | 1987 | 270 troops. Multi-role amphibious transport and general logistics ship. Now assigned to Royal Yacht Squadron | ||
Nasr al Bahr class | Landing Ship Tank | 2,500 tons full load | Nasr al Bahr | L2 | Brooke Marine | 1984 | 1985 | Equipped with helicopter deck. Capacity for 7 tanks; 240 troops. Laid down in 1982. | |
Al Sultana class | Al Sultana | A2 | Netherlands | 1975 | |||||
Auxiliaries (2 in service) | |||||||||
Al Mubshir class | High speed support vessel | Al Mubshir | S11 | Austal | 20 October 2015 | 20 May 2016 | |||
Al Naasir | S12 | April 2016 | 8 September 2016 |
Missiles
- 50 VT-1 Crotale NG SAMs
- 162 Exocet MM-40 (122 Block-1+ 40 Block-2)
- Exocet MM-38
- Harpoon Block-II
- VL Mica-SAM
Electronics
- MASS Ship protection system
- 3 x SMART-S MK-II Ship sensors
- 2 x MW-8 Air search radar
- 5 x Sting fire control radar
- 2 x DRBV-51C fire control radar
- 3 x RA-20S air search radar
- 4 x 9LV radar
- 3 x CEROS-200 radar
Future
Procurement
New Research Vessel
The Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) has contracted with the US Pentagon through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program to provide a new research vessel based on the RV F.G. Walton Smith, a University of Miami vessel. DeJong & Lebet, Naval Architects, provided the US Navy with Contract Drawings and Engineering.
Thoma-Sea Shipbuilders of Lockport, Louisiana reportedly won a $7.3m contract to build a Catamaran Hull Hydrographic Survey Vessel for the government of Oman, according to a report. This vessel will be built by Thoma-Sea. Thoma-Sea’s partner in this proposal is Technology Associates Inc. (TAI) of New Orleans in Louisiana. TAI prepared the proposal for Thoma-Sea and will be in charge of performing the Design, Program Management and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) functions for Thoma-Sea. The Sultanate of Oman will receive this 90-foot vessel, which is designed to conduct hydrographic and environmental surveys of harbors and bays, and will work in Oman’s territorial waters, according to the release.[7]
Oman has also issued RFI for a new ‘hydrographic survey vessel’. US Naval Sea Systems Command is promoting ship design based on the Walton Smith Catamaran design.
In Oman, South Korean defence minister Song Young-moo met with his counterpart Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib Al Busaidi. They spoke highly about the South Korean destroyers, Oman signed a deal in 2018 for an unknown number of ships and other arms including tanks.
Former ships
- Four Brooke Marine patrol craft
See also
- Qahir Al Amwaj
References
- ^ a b c d Sulaiman Aljabri. p.182.
- ^ "About Royal Navy of Oman". Oman Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ a b John Pike. "Royal Oman Navy (RON)". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- ^ Sulaiman Aljabri, Khamis Salim (18 June 2012). "Omans Maritime Doctrine: a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Arab and Islamic Studies" (PDF). ore.exeter.ac.uk. Exeter: University of Exeter. p. 182. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d Sulaiman Aljabri. p. 182.
- ISBN 9780521852937.
- ^ "Thoma-Sea Wins Navy Deal". Marine Link. July 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2014.