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The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) was formerly known as Bahrain Ameri Air Force (BAAF) but since the elections of 14 February 2002, the oilstate became a Monarchy and the Armed Forces were renamed accordingly
In 1987, the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) was reorganized into separate Army, Navy and Air force branches with the Air Wing becoming the Bahrain Amiri Air Force (BAAF). The delivery of a squadron of F-16s from 1990 marked a further increase in the capabilities of the air arm. The new F-16 unit was based at Shaikh Isa AB alongside the F-5s. On 2 August 1990 several aircraft from the Kuwait Air Force were evacuated to Bahrain during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. During the subsequent Gulf War, BAAF F-5s and F-16s first flew defensive missions on 25 January 1991 and began offensive operations the following day. The Gulf War ended on 28 February 1991.
A second batch of F-16s commenced delivery in 2000. The new aircraft were equipped to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile, first used by the USAF in the Gulf War. The original batch of F-16s received will be upgraded to carry the AMRAAM also. In July 2000, Bahrain signed a deal with BAE SYSTEMS to establish a pilot academy based around the Hawk trainer - similar to the NFTC in Canada. Subsequently, orders were placed for Slingsby T.67 Fireflys and BAE Hawk 100 trainers. Following constitutional changes in the country, in February 2002 the official name of the air force was changed to Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF).
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