Royal Brunei Air Force

National Markings
Royal Brunei Air Force

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This page describes and illustrates the various national insignia used by the Royal Brunei Air Force since its formation:

               [To be added]
Main MarkingFin Flash

1965-1975
When the Air Service of the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment was established in 1965, its aircraft and helicopters were marked with the coat of arms of the regiment, together with the national flag as a fin flash. The roundel was displayed in the standard six positions on aircraft – above and below each wing and on the fuselage sides, but just on the fuselage sides on helicopters. The H.S.748 carried the service titles ASKAR MELAYU DIRAJA BRUNEI on the fuselage sides.

     
Main MarkingFin Flash

1975-1991
In about 1975 a new red/green/white/yellow roundel was introduced to replace the regimental coat of arms. The roundel was displayed in the standard six positions on aircraft – above and below each wing and on the fuselage sides, but just on the fuselage sides on helicopters. A fin flash of red/green/white/yellow vertical stripes was also introduced, but this soon replaced by the national flag. Large aircraft carried the service titles ASKAR MELAYU DIRAJA BRUNEI (or later ANGKATAN BERSENJATA DIRAJA BRUNEI) on the fuselage sides.


     
Main MarkingFin Flash

1991-present
Current Brunei aircraft carry the RBAF Official Insignia, (outlined on a white disc if against a dark colour), on the fuselage sides. The use of the roundel appears to have been discontinued. The fin carries the national flag or a blue/white/yellow fin flash – or quite often both. The service titles TENTERA UDATA DIRAJA BRUNEI are carried on most aircraft and helicopters.

Royal Brunei Air Force

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Operator Profile

History

Narrative Summary

The present Royal Brunei Air Force was first established in May 1965 with the creation of an Air Service for the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment. Initially equipped with three Whirlwind helicopters flown by foreign pilots under contract, the unit transported army doctors to remote areas. In 1966 the Whirlwinds were replaced by three Wessex 54 helicopters manned by British RAF crews and the unit became known as the Helicopter Platoon. In the following year five Bell 206 JetRanger helicopters were received. In 1971 the first fixed-wing aircraft was delivered, a H.S.748 transport. In late 1972, the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment was reorganised, and the Helicopter Platoon became the Air Wing.

The First Squadron was formed around the Bell 206 unit and a Piper Cherokee light aircraft was obtained in 1976. In 1980 the Air Technical Training School was established. A Second Squadron was formed in 1981 with the MBB Bo 105 and a Third Squadron in 1982 with SF-260 light attack aircraft. After formal independence from Britain on 1 January 1984 the country became responsible for its own defence. The personnel strength of the Air Wing was expanded considerably and on 1 October 1991 it was renamed the Royal Brunei Air Force.

In 1997 an influx of new equipment allowed two more squadrons, numbers Four and Five, to be established and the re-equipment of the Third Squadron. In November 2011 the biggest aircraft order to date, for twelve S-70i Black Hawk helicopters, was announced. Delivery from 2013 is enabling a significant growth in the capability of the RBAF.

Key Dates

May 1965 Air Service of the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment established.
March 1984 Air Wing of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.
1 October 1991 Royal Brunei Air Force.

Current Status

All RBAF aircraft and helicopters currently are currently active.

Future Plans

Acquire one C-130J for transport duties.

Markings

National Insignia

Current — Historical

Aircraft Serial Numbers

All RBAF aircraft are allocated a three-digit serial number. This is prefixed with a four or five service identifier, which has changed over time:
AMDB (May 1965- March 1984)
ABDB (March 1984- September 1991)
ATU DB (October 1991- ? 2005)
TUDB (? 2005+)

Aircraft

Aircraft Designations

None – Manufacturers designations used.

Current Aircraft Inventory

Table of Current Service Aircraft

All-Time Aircraft Used List

All-Time Table of Aircraft Used

Instructional Airframes

To be added.

Aircraft NOT Used

False reports of aircraft on order or in service


Organisation

Main Headquarters

HQ RBAF, Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Bolkiah Garrison, Government Building and Capitol Building, BB3510, Brunei Muara. Brunei Darussalam, Brunei.

Organisational Structure

The Air Force is divided into 5 Wings: Operation Wing (front-line aircraft), Air Regiment (air defence missiles and base ground defence), Logistics Wing (maintenance and technical support), Training Wing (training and standards evaluation), Administration Wing (back office duties). Only the Operation and Training Wings operate aircraft. There are five flying squadrons.

Current Order of Battle

Table of Current Order of Battle

Historical Orders of Battle

Historical Order of Battle for 2002

All-Time Flying Units List

Operation Wing
Training Wing
1 Squadron
2 Squadron
3 Squadron
4 Squadron
5 Squadron

Air Bases

Current Air Bases

The main air bases currently used is Rimba Air Base, situated within Brunei International Airport.

All-Time Air Bases Used List

Apart from the main base, there is only one other airfield in Brunei. The RBAF also operates helicopters from warships of the Royal Brunei Navy.
Military Air Bases Listing

Aircraft-Carrying Ships Listing


More Information

Books

Brunei Military Aviation Bibliography – to be added.

Magazines

To be added

Websites

Official Homepage of the Royal Brunei Air Force

wikipedia: Royal Brunei Air Force

Scramble: Royal Brunei Air Force

Airliners.net

Air Bases and Airfields
Royal Brunei Air Force

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This page gives details of the air bases and airfields which have been or are used by the Royal Brunei Air Force.

Location Name ICAO IATA Status
Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei International Airport WBSB BWN Active
Seria Anduki Airfield WBAK (none) Active

Aircraft-Carrying Ships
Royal Brunei Air Force

Last updated:

This page gives a summary of the aircraft-carrying ships which have been or are used by the Royal Brunei Air Force.

Pennant No. Name Type Status
06 Darussalam Offshore Patrol Vessel Active
07 Darulehsan Offshore Patrol Vessel Active
08 Darulaman Offshore Patrol Vessel Active
09 Daruttaqwa Offshore Patrol Vessel Active

All-Time Aircraft Used List
Royal Brunei Air Force

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Aircraft Type Quantity Service Entry Out of Service Origin
Bell 205A-1 Iroquois 3 1970 1981 USA
Bell 206A JetRanger 4 1967 1996 USA
Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III 2 1979 current USA
Bell 212 Twin Huey 15 1971 2014 USA
Bell 214ST 1 1986 current USA
CASA CN235M 1 2000 current Spain
CASA CN235MPA 3 2013 current Indonesia
Hawker Siddeley H.S.748 srs 2A 1 1971 1981 UK
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules 1 ? ? USA
MBB Bo 105CBS 6 1981 current Germany
Pilatus PC-7 Mk II Turbo Trainer 4 1997 current Switzerland
Piper PA-28 Cherokee 2 1976 1982 USA
SIAI Marchetti SF.260WB Warrior 2 1982 1998 Italy
Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawk 4 1997 current USA
Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk 12 2013 current USA
Westland Whrilwind 3 3 1965 1971 UK
Westland Wessex 54 2 1967 1971 UK

Current Aircraft Inventory
Royal Brunei Air Force

Last updated:
Aircraft Type Total Del’d Total Active Still on Order Role
Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III 2 2 0 Trainer
Bell 214ST 1 1 0 Utility
CASA CN235M 1 1 0 Transport
CASA CN235MPA 3 3 0 Maritime Patrol
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules 0 0 1 Transport
MBB Bo 105CBS 6 6 0 Utility
Pilatus PC-7 Mk II Turbo Trainer 4 4 0 Trainer
Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawk 4 4 0 Utility
Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk 12 12 0 Transport

Aircraft Not Used
Royal Brunei Air Force

Last updated:

This page gives details of some of the aircraft types that were offered or promised to the Royal Brunei Air Force but not delivered, cancelled official orders, and types have been falsely reported as being in service.

British Aerospace Hawk Mk.100
During the mid 1990s, the RBAF was seriously interested in obtaining a squadron of Hawk 100 advanced jet trainers, but no order was actually signed.

British Aerospace Hawk Mk.200
The RBAF was also interested in a squadron of Hawk 200 light fighters in the mid 1990s but, again, no order was placed.

Agusta-Bell AB212
Three AB212s were reported in service with the RBAF. Probably confusion with the Bell 212 Twin Huey that was actually used.

CASA C.212 Aviocar
Eleven C.212s have been reported in service. None were actually delivered.

SIAI Marchetti SF.260TP Warrior
Four of the turbo-prop version of the SF.260 were reported in service. This is most likely a confusion with the SF.260W piston-engined version that was actually used.

Sikorsky S-55/H-19
Several sources give the first helicopter type operated by the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment as the Sikorsky S-55 – including the official history. These helicopters were actually Westland-built WS-55 Whirlwind Srs 3 examples. The WS-55 was a licence-built development of the S-55.

Sikorsky S-62
One S-62 is reported to have been used by the RBAF 1966-1967. None were actually used.