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Every so often, an air force enters the highway for high-performance fighters and then immediately maneuvers to the fast lane. Take the Bahrain Amiri Air Force as a prime example. After becoming the fifteenth operator of the Fighting Falcon in 1990, the BAAF, the first air force in the Arabian Gulf region to adopt the F-16, has forged ahead at an astonishing pace.

Home to the BAAF is Sheik Isa Air Base located on the shore of the Arabian Gulf in southern Bahrain. It hosts the BAAF Fighter Wing and the two squadrons that comprise it. The 1st Fighter Squadron operates twelve Block 40 F-16s alongside twelve F-5E/F Tiger IIs from the 6th Fighter Squadron. Any visitor to this spacious, modern air base may not believe that Bahrain’s air power capability less than fifteen years ago consisted exclusively of rotary aircraft. With the acceptance of the F-5 aircraft in October 1985, the BAAF joined the jet age.

"Once we decided to go for fighters, we wanted F-16s," recalls Col. Sheik Hamad Abdullah Al-Khalifa, the BAAF Chief of Staff. After the BAAF obtained F-5s, the US government accommodated Bahrain’s request for a higher performance fighter. A BAAF selection committee was then formed and led by Col. Nabeel Kamal. The committee also included Lt. Col. Mohammed bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the present commander of the Fighter Wing at Sheik Isa.

"We wanted a fighter that would be best suited for air defense," Lt. Col. Mohammed bin Salman Al-Khalifa says. "We looked at various aircraft the F-15, F-16, F-18, the British Tornado, the French Mirage 2000, and even a few Russian types." Maintainability, reliability, and the potential for future upgrades were criteria that led the Bahrainis to select the Block 40 Fighting Falcon. Both the Pratt & Whitney F100 and General Electric F110 power plants were evaluated as well. "We felt happy with both engines. But GE offered a better contract, so we selected the F110," notes Lt. Col. Mohammed Al-Khalifa. The twelve aircraft were ordered in March 1987, and the Bahrain program became known as Peace Crown.

To prepare for the Fighting Falcons, some eighty technicians and six F-5 pilots went to the United States in May 1989 to participate in F-16 conversion and instructor pilot training at MacDill AFB, Florida. The pilots became the first foreign students to be trained at MacDill. Meanwhile in Bahrain, workers began constructing what would become Bahrain’s first fully equipped military air base to house F-16s and F-5s. (Previously, BAAF F-5s operated out of a military area at Muharraq Internaional Airport, Bahrain’s airport near the capitol city of Manama.)

The first BAAF F-16, a dual-seat F-16D, was formally handed over to the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Bahrain Defense Forces at ceremonies in Fort Worth on 22 March 1989. When the Bahrain pilots completed training, they ferried the first four BAAF F-16s from Fort Worth in May to their brand new home base. The 1st Fighter Squadron was established. A few weeks later, the Bahrain ruler, the late Emir Sheik Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, after whom the base was named, inaugurated the air base. The F-5s left Muharraq and made a new home at Sheik Isa Air Base as well. Supported by USAF instructor pilots, a curriculum was established for new F-16 pilots at the squadron.

The original schedule for aircrew training was turned upside down when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait on 2 August. "With just a handful of pilots, very little operational experience on F-16s, and a major conflict brewing on our doorstep, we suddenly found ourselves making war preparations instead of building the F-16 squadron and training pilots," the BAAF fighter wing commander recalls. With coalition forces pouring into the region in the ensuing months under Operation Desert Shield, Sheik Isa was inundated with military aircraft. Close to 200 US aircraft filled the ramps F-4Gs, F-18s, AV-8Bs, A-6Es, EA-6Bs, KC-10s while the base transformed into a small city of 12,000 military personnel.

When Desert Shield became Desert Storm, BAAF F-16s flew defensive and offensive counter-air missions, averaging about five sorties per day. The F-5s carried out interdiction missions, around four sorties per day, often teaming with F-16s as fighter escorts. The BAAF targeted a wide range of targets in Kuwait radar sites, artillery positions, and missile sites. In all, the BAAF flew about 300 combat sorties, of which 167 involved F-16s.

Lt. Col. Mohammed Al-Khalifa offers his retrospect of the most important lesson learned from that hectic start of F-16 operations. "Desert Storm molded us," he says. "It affected the way we look at operational flying today. Each time we fly, we train as we would operate in an actual combat situation. That sounds logical, but it takes a different mindset to train as you fight. We have no margin for error and very high expectations." This training approach has earned the Bahrain F-16 pilots the reputation of "Aggressors of the Gulf" by the air forces of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation military alliance of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Gulf War formed a basis for an intensified military cooperation between these member states and the United States. For Bahrain, this cooperation resulted not only in US deployments to Sheik Isa but also in numerous joint exercises. One of those exercises, Initial Link, is held annually between the GCC air forces and various US units from the US Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Initial Link ’99 was cancelled when the US withdrew because of its involvement in Operation Allied Force over Yugoslavia. Every unit involved was disappointed, including the 144th Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard unit in Fresno, California, as it prepared to deploy six F-16Cs to Sheik Isa. The BAAF F-16 pilots will get their share of multinational training, though, in the annual GCC exercise. This year’s exercise, called Peninsula Falcon 2, will be held in October with the Kuwaiti Air Force as host at Ali Al-Salem Air Base.

Bahrain’s membership in the GCC also requires BAAF F-16 pilots to take part in the air defense of the combined GCC airspace. For this, the 1st Fighter Squadron frequently pulls alert, being assigned to what is called Sector B, an area that covers Bahrain airspace and parts of Saudi and Qatari airspace. As Bahrain is located just off the Saudi coast near Dhahran, the implementation of these air defense duties is coordinated with the F-15Cs from the Royal Saudi Air Force stationed at nearby Dhahran Air Base.

The Royal Saudi Air Force is a major ally for the BAAF, and the two air forces often train together. The RSAF hosts several Bahrain exchange pilots. BAAF F-16s, in turn, fly as aggressors in the RSAF Fighter Weapons School against Saudi students in Tornados and F-15Cs. In addition, the BAAF regularly uses Saudi airspace for flying operations. With Bahrain airspace stretching a mere forty by eighty miles, BAAF pilots need neighboring airspace to train sufficiently. The airspace agreement with the Saudis also involves the use of nearby Saudi bombing ranges to practice live firing of both air-to-ground and air-to-air weaponry.

Having Saudi training areas nearby offers a distinct advantage for the Bahrain aircrews. "With our training areas so close, we don’t lose precious flying time in transit to and from the training areas," says Maj. Abdullah Al-Naimi, commander of the 1st Fighter Squadron. "This proximity enables us to dedicate most of our flying hours purely to training. That way, every hour flown is well spent, especially with a first-class multirole jet as the Fighting Falcon." Al-Naimi was one of the first BAAF F-16 pilots and one of the seven Bahrain pilots with more than 1,000 hours in the F-16.

The F-16 crews often fly dissimilar air combat training with the F-5s, which they respect highly. "It’s small, agile, hard to spot, and flown by skilled pilots, which makes it a pretty good training adversary," Al-Naimi points out. Besides air-to-air, BAAF F-16 pilots also perform air-to-ground missions. Antishipping missions are reserved exclusively for the F-5s. Bahrain F-16 pilots log around 120 flying hours every year.

The BAAF F-16 squadron receives around four new pilots each year. Most of them train in Saudi Arabia and are qualified on the F-5 when they return to Bahrain. Before they can proceed to the Viper, they first fly F-5s with the 6th Fighter Squadron. Those continuing to the F-16 start conversion training carried out autonomously by the 1st Fighter Squadron.

"We have three tracks A, B, and C through which pilots can enter the squadron," Al-Naimi says. "The A-track is for new pilots fresh out of pilot training with some initial experience on the F-5. This eight-month course encompasses about ninety day and night sorties." Experienced pilots coming from F-5s, flight leads and instructor pilots, follow the B-track. The C-track is an upgrade course for pilots trained on earlier F-16 models in the United States. After completing these courses, pilots fly as wingmen and enroll in the squadron’s mission qualification training to master a number of systems and weapons. For air defense, one of the key systems is the AIM-7 Sparrow radar-guided air-to-air missile. The Sparrow missile joined the BAAF in late 1991 and is used together with the AIM-9 Sidewinder.

As the BAAF F-16 pilots matriculate through continuous upgrade courses, they participate in the BAAF policy of continually improving combat potential with new weapon systems. To gain the air-to-ground mission for the F-16 in 1993, the BAAF took delivery of the Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-14 Sharpshooter pod, the targeting pod associated with the LANTIRN system. The pod adds precision-guided munitions capability. The targeting pods are used in conjunction with 500-pound GBU-12 and the 2,000-pound GBU-10 laser-guided bombs, which can be carried by the F-16s and the F-5s. As with the AIM-7, BAAF F-16 pilots go through separate courses to qualify for these systems. Another weapon system purchased in the wake of the Peace Crown program is the AGM-65 Maverick. The BAAF operates both the TV-guided AGM-65B and the AGM-65G infrared-guided version.

These systems, in combination with the sophistication of the Block 40 F-16, have made a tremendous impact on the operational capabilities of the BAAF. "The F-16 has brought about a great change," says Col. Hamad Al-Khalifa. "It is a real pilot’s aircraft; we feel we have chosen the right machine. Our training and exercises with neighboring air forces prove this time and again. None of them fly F-16s, which makes them look at us with awe," the Air Force Chief of Staff points out. Bahrain’s satisfaction with the F-16 is reinforced by the country’s follow-on order for additional F-16s.

"Initially we looked at used US Navy F-16Ns that would be upgraded," says Lt. Col. Rashid Salman Al-Dosseri, the BAAF Chief of Operations. "We later decided to pursue new aircraft." In February 1998, a Letter of Offer and Acceptance was signed to initiate a second Bahrain F-16 program. Dubbed Peace Crown II, the $303 million program funded ten Block 40 F-16s in the same configuration as the initial purchase. "We are expecting the first jets to arrive here in October next year with deliveries to be completed about six months later," Al-Dosseri adds.

For these new jets, the BAAF will establish another F-16 squadron aptly identified as the 2nd Fighter Squadron. At Sheik Isa, preparations for the new jets are running at full speed already. New facilities are being constructed, including hardened aircraft shelters and a squadron building for the 2nd Fighter Squadron. Also, the initial group of pilots for the new squadron is currently undergoing the F-16 conversion training with the 1st Fighter Squadron. New F-16 pilots are also being trained in Arizona at both Luke AFB and at Tucson.

Parallel with Peace Crown II, Bahrain was cleared by the US government to receive the AIM-120, becoming the first Gulf state to receive the missile. Bahrain’s dedication to expand its capabilities does not come to a halt with the introduction of the AIM-120, however. "We are constantly looking at new capabilities," notes Col. Hamad Al-Khalifa. "When we feel a need for an additional capability, we pursue it. To give an example," he continues, "we are looking at a stand-off air-to-ground capability to add to our inventory as well as adding a reconnaissance system." The BAAF is not evaluating any specific systems at this moment, though.

The Bahrain Amiri Air Force shows that the road to maturity can be a short one when an air force has talented and professional people. "When you want to learn, you have to listen and hear what others have to say," Col. Hamad Al-Khalifa explains. "Digest as much information as you can and put it to use. That’s what we have been doing for the past fifteen years. Our approach has paid off."

More than anything else, the BAAF’s safety record can be seen as a yardstick to gauge its professionalism. The air force has not lost a single aircraft since it started operating fighters in 1985. The dedication and energy of the Bahrain fighter crews show that the BAAF takes its business seriously or, to quote an F-16 pilot from the 1st Fighter Squadron: "No matter whom we fly against, we are victorious."

Eric Stijger is an aviation photographer and journalist based in the Netherlands.