Royal Bahraini Army is the ground force component of the Bahraini Defence Force. The army's current strength is 6,000 personnel and headed by Lieutenant General Khalifa bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa.
Formation[]
The army consists of 3 brigades and 2 battalions:
- 1 Armoured Brigade
- 2 armoured battalions
- 1 recon battalion
- 1 Mechanized Infantry Brigade
- 2 mechanized infantry
- 1 infantry battalion
- 1 Artillery Brigade
- 6 artillery batteries
- 1 air defence battalion
- 1 special forces battalion
Equipment[]
RBA has a mix of equipment purchases in the 1970s and early 1990s. They are currently modernizing some of the army's equipment. Most purchases in the past have been second hand from the United States or Britain.
Heavy Armour[]
Quantity | Type/Class | Origin | Details |
---|---|---|---|
25 | YPR-765 Infantry Fighting Vehicles | Netherlands | Dutch variant of US AIFV |
180 | M60 A3 Patton Main battle tanks | USA | |
110 | M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers | USA | |
110 | Panhard M3 Armoured Personnel Carriers | France | |
22 | AML-90 Recon Vehicles | France | |
10 | AT105 Saxon | UK | purchased in the 1980s |
Artillery[]
Quantity | Type/Class | Origin | Details |
---|---|---|---|
13 | 203mm M110 Self-propelled howitzer | USA | |
18 | 155mm M-198 A1 howitzers | USA | |
8 | 105mm L-118 Light Gun | UK | |
9 | M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System | USA | |
15 | BGM-71C TOW Anti-Tank Missile System | USA | |
18 | FIM-92A Stinger Weapons System | USA | |
15 | Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon | Switzerland | GDF-005 units |
12 | Bofors 40 mm L70 Air Defence Gun | Sweden | |
60 | RBS 70 SAM | Sweden | |
7 | Crotale SAM | France | |
8 | MIM-23 Hawk SAM | USA |
Weapons[]
Quantity | Type/Class | Origin | Details |
---|---|---|---|
? | M16 rifle assault rifles | USA | |
? | M4 carbine assault rifle | USA | |
? | Barrett M82 anti material rifle | USA | |
? | Heckler & Koch MP5 | Germany |
Additional equipment on order by the army include:
Quantity | Type/Class | Origin | Details |
---|---|---|---|
180 | Javelin surface-to-air missile | UK | |
6 | Nimer-1 MRAP (armored vehicle) | Oman |
Retired equipment were made in the 1950s and 1960s:
Quantity | Type/Class | Origin | Details |
---|---|---|---|
10 | Ferret Armoured Fighting Vehicle | UK | |
10 | Alvis Saladin | UK |
See also[]
References[]
The original article can be found at Royal Bahraini Army and the edit history here.