Tuesday 06 / May / 2025
Muhut: Oman’s commitment to defend its sovereign borders and its most important resource - it’s people - has been given what is perhaps the Sultanate’s most important pledge to that effect, as joint exercise Saif Sareea 3 came to an end on Saturday afternoon.
A joint military action between Oman and the United Kingdom, its long-standing partner, Saif Sareea 3 (which is Arabic for Swift Sword 3) was the largest set of military drills between the two nations, which saw the participation of 70,000 defence personnel from Oman, as well as a further 5,500 soldiers, sailors, pilots and engineers from the British Armed Forces.
Overseen by Sayyid Badr bin Saud Al Busaidi, the Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs, on behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the month-long operation took place primarily around the regions of Bantoot and Mahoot in the Wusta Governorate, and involved the army of the two countries, naval and air forces, who were camped out in the desert for the better part of a month, as they worked on improving the capability of their joint operations and understanding of each on a military level, should it be required in the future.
Running parallel to Saif Sareea 3 was the exercise Al Shumookh 2, an Omani operation to test the readiness of the Sultan’s Armed Forces.
Saif Sareea 3 began on October 17, while Al Shumookh 2 began on the 1st. Both events ended on the 27th. “The Sultan’s Armed Forces will always make it their number one priority to defend our country and our people’s interests,” said a spokesman from the Ministry of Defence. “Throughout Saif Sareea 3, as well as Al Shumookh 2, we worked hard to establish certain defensive parameters and objectives and worked towards achieving them.”
“May God always give us the strength to defend our homeland and our people,” he added. “This exercise was possible thanks to the close cooperation between Oman’s Armed Forces and the British Armed Forces.”
The finale for Saif Sareea 3, which involved a combined assault on enemy positions by air, land and the sea forces of Oman and the UK, was held on the morning of November 3, and showcased the combined tactics and understanding that the two sides had worked so hard to build in the deserts of Al Wusta over the past 30 or so days.
It was held in the presence of Al Busaidi, and a number of senior Omani and British officials, including Gavin Williamson, the current British Defence Secretary.
“It is quite obvious that both countries are able to share command, work together and fight together,” he said.
“This is what acts as a great deterrent. Hopefully, we will not wait too long before launching Saif Sareea 4 with our Omani friends.”
Lt Col Peter Winton, spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defence, added, “I am here with the British Army and the British Armed Forces at exercise Saif Sareea 3. It’s a pretty great honour for us to work alongside the Omanis, our great friends in the region and to take part in this fantastic exercise and this fantastic firepower demonstration that is taking place. The British are dedicated to Gulf security and this demonstration with the Omanis is a demonstration of this activity across the region.”
“We are committed to all of the countries in the Gulf, we work on the same things, but our friendship with the Omanis and our long-standing bilateral relationship with them allows us to work with them at this level of complexity and this level of commitment, to show that we are able to work with our friends and allies wherever and whenever required around the world.”
Winton added that both sides learned much from their joint military operations.
“The learning experience is just the complexity between so many different aspects of this exercise. We’ve got planes in the skies of the different air forces working together, formations of tanks of the ground, of Omani and British Challengers, working alongside one another and supported by anti tank equipment, and at sea, the Royal Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman working together, and we’re glad that the giant complexity of all these pieces being controlled together by a joint headquarters is clearly in the best interest of everybody. It is a difficult challenge but we’ve come through together when it really mattered.”
Firepower display
Also invited to the closing firepower display were representatives from the high commands of the armed forces of other nations, including Oman’s GCC compatriots Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait, as well as Egypt, Jordan and South Korea.
Lt Gen Ahmed Al Nabhani, Oman’s Chief of Army Staff, and Brigadier Hassan Al Mujaini, the chief representative for Saif Sareea 3, were also present, alongside a number of top British officers, including Air Vice Marshal Bruce Headley, Vice Admiral Tim Fraser, General Sir Christopher Deverell, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen John Hillier, Major General Stuart Skeates, General Sir Nicholas Patrick Carter, Admiral Sir Philip Andrew Jones, General Mark Carleton Smith and Lt Gen Sir Johan Lorimer.
In addition to the various elements of the Sultan’s Armed Forces, the Royal Guards of Oman and the Sultan’s Special Forces were also part of Saif Sareea 3.
Saif Sareea 1, the first joint military exercise in the series, took place in 1986, with Saif Sareea 2 taking place in 2001.
