Thumrait ( ar, ثمريت) is a small town and wilayat (province) of the

Dhofar Governorate The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah ...

in southern

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. In ancient times Thumrait was an important point on the Arabian peninsula's caravan routes.

Frankincense Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus '' Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense'). There are several species ...

trees, an important crop, used to grow in greater abundance in Thumrait than now. The main occupation of the people of Thumrait is the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and animal fodder.

Military

Thumrait is notable for its

Royal Air Force of Oman The Royal Air Force of Oman ( ar, سلاح الجو السلطاني عمان, Silāḥ al-Jaww as-Sulṭāniy ‘Umān or RAFO) is the air arm of the Armed Forces of Oman. History Sultan of Oman's Air Force era The Sultan of Oman's Air Force ...

station. Originally an oil depot,

RAFO Thumrait RAFO Thumrait airbase is a military airport located near Thumrait, a town in Dhofar Governorate, Oman. The Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) are the operators of RAFO Thumrait, and is home to two RAFO squadrons of F16s. The United States Air Force ...

was created to establish air power in that region of Oman. The first Omani air unit based at Thumrait, equipped with

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Ro ...

FG.9 aircraft, was tasked with ground attack and intercept missions. 12 new

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force. Originally ...

fighter-bombers were added to the base's complement to improve attack capabilities in 1977. RAFO Thumrait has been used by US, UK and Allied air forces to support operations during Operations

Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases ...

around the time of the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, and later in

Global War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

operations in Afghanistan. Many current such operations now operate from

Muscat International Airport Muscat International Airport , formerly Seeb International Airport, is the main international airport in Oman and is located in Seeb, 32 km from the old city and capital Muscat within the Muscat metropolitan area. The airport serves as th ...

, which is closer to the area of operations. Thumrait is also the home of the Western Frontier Regiment.

Exercises held at Thumrait Air Base

In 2009,

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct ...

pilots of ‘Flaming Arrows’ and ‘Cobras’, the two SEPECAT Jaguar Squadrons participated in joint exercises called ‘Eastern Bridge’ alongside the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO)'s force of SEPECAT Jaguars and

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a success ...

s at Thumrait Air Base. A subsequent Indo-Omani exercise, ‘Eastern Bridge-II,’ took place in 2011 at Indian Air Force Station Jamnagar (Gujarat)."Indo Oman Air Exercise – Eastern Bridge – II Concludes at Jamnagar,

official Indian Air Force English language press release

Climate

Thumrait has a hot

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''BWh'') with very hot summers and warm winters. There is very little rainfall; some rain may occur from February to April, as well as June to August due to the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Oman

Military

Exercises held at Thumrait Air Base

Climate

See also

References