Units from the Royal Army of Oman (RAO) carried out the Omani-British military exercise ‘Khanjar Oman’ with support from the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) and participation of the British Army’s units.

The military exercise was conducted at the training fields in the Governorate of Al Wusta in the presence of Major General Mattar bin Salim al-Balushi, RAO Commander, senior commanders and officers of the British Forces and RAO senior officers, Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.

The Omani-British forces taking part in the exercise’s activities carried out the plans outlined for the exercise to achieve the envisaged training objectives. The joint forces showed a high level of performance and high morale.

The events of the exercise reflected the level of RAO personnel in terms of competence and capabilities that reflect the level of training, high rehabilitation and the ability to harmonize in the implementation of joint tasks.

Major General Mattar bin Salim al-Balushi, RAO Commander praised the performance of the forces participating in ‘Khanjar Oman’ Military Exercise, which are represented by units from the RAO and the British Forces. This enabled them to carry out all procedures planned during various stages of the exercise. He expressed his satisfaction of the high level of the Omani soldier and his ability to work side by side professionally and efficiently with his counterparts from the British side.

The RAO Commander said: “The coordination at various levels reached high rates, which is a source of pride and in accordance with the desired criteria of military efficiency and operational readiness, whether at the level of personnel and equipment or plans. This was evident during the activities of this exercise, as well as other training exercises with the sisterly and friendly countries where RAO took part.”

About the activities of the joint exercise, Colonel Hamad bin Ahmed Sakron, RAO Training Director said: “Khanjar Oman is an important resource for assessing the performance and capability of combat and supporting units and how to improve them through joint exercises. The harmony of armored units and infantry units enabled them to work as a joint force as efforts were coordinated to integrate abilities, accompanied by firepower and speed response”.

Colonel Mansour bin Ali al-Amri, Commander of the Desert Battalion, said: “The exercise is a joint field drill between units of the RAO with air support from the RAFO and units from the British Army Forces.”

“The event was conducted with the utmost professionalism by all joint units of the Omani side and the British side,” he added.

“The size of the exercise area and the scenario of operations contributed to the implementation of the stages of the battle with the Omani forces and the achievement of a synergy among the participating forces,” said Colonel Dickie Tyler, British Director of the Exercise.

He hoped to continue sharing military expertise with the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF). He described the historic relations between Oman and Britain as “were and remain firm.”

Lt. Colonel Howard, Commander of the British Armored Corps affirmed that the exercise “was very useful to our participating forces as the theater is very appropriate and we have been able to perform a variety of successful training exercises in the exercise scenario.”