Kuwait Naval Force

The Kuwait Naval Force (Arabic: القوة البحرية الكويتية), is the sea-based component of the Kuwait Armed Forces. The headquarters and sole naval base is Mohammed Al-Ahmad Kuwait Naval Base. The Kuwait Naval Force consists of over 2,200 officers and enlisted personnel, excluding about 500 coast guard personnel. The Coast Guard, a Border Security Directorate of the Kuwait Ministry of Interior.[1][2]

Kuwait Naval Force
القوة البحرية الكويتية
Founded1961 (1961)
Country Kuwait
BranchMilitary of Kuwait
TypeNavy
SizeApprox. 2,700 personnel
Part ofKuwait Armed Forces
Garrison/HQMohammed Al-Ahmad Kuwait Naval Base
Nickname(s)His Highness Sea Vanguard
Motto(s)لله والوطن والامير God, Country & The Emir
ColorsGreen & Red
AnniversariesNational and Liberation Day (25 and 26 February)
Engagements
Commanders
CommanderBrig.general Khaled A Abdulla
Vice CommanderGeneral Idrees Abdullatif
Um Al Maradim La Combattante-class missile-attack-craft Al Fahaheel (P3721) in May 2013
Kuwait Naval Force Chief Combat Commander Major General Al-Mulla conducts a troop inspection during a full honor welcome ceremony on board the Washington Navy Yard on February 15, 2005

History

Kuwait's navy was established in 1961[3] shortly after Britain ended the country's protectorate status following Operation Vantage.

During the Invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm, Kuwait's navy was almost completely destroyed.[4][5] At the start of the invasion, the Iraqi Navy captured and sank five Kuwaiti Lürssen TNC-45 type fast attack craft (missile) and one Lürssen FPB-57 type fast attack craft (missile).[6] Kuwait Naval Forces also lost 20 other ships to Iraq during the war.[7]

On 11 November 2008, Kuwait Naval Base was the location of the historic signing of the non-legally binding maritime Khawr Abd Allah Protocols otherwise known as the KAA Protocols. The signing of the KAA Protocols by the then respective heads of the Kuwaiti Naval Force and the Iraqi Navy was the first formal and successful maritime bilateral military agreement for the co-ordinated and de-conflicted use of the Khawr Abd Allah waterway since before the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The protocols were developed and mediated by Major David Hammond RM, a British Royal Navy barrister in 2008 and they were subsequently ratified by both the Kuwaiti and Iraqi governments before the 11 November 2008 signing. They were subsequently reported to the US Congress within the December 2008 'Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq' report and the text of which have since become public knowledge following leaks in US diplomatic notes.[8]

Structure and Organization
  • Kuwait Naval Warships
  • Kuwait Marine Corps
  • Kuwait Commando Marine Units

List Missile Fast Patrol Boats (MFPB)
ClassUnitsNote
Istiglal (German FPB-57)1410 tons full load – 4 MM-40 SSM – commissioned 1983
Al Sanbouk (German TNC-45)1255 tons full load – 4 MM-40 SSM – commissioned 1984
Um Al Maradim (Combattante P37-BRL)8245 tons full load – 4 Sea Skua SSM – commissioned 1998–2000

List Patrol Fighting Vessels
ClassUnitsNote
Intisar (Australian OPV-310)4
Al-Shaheed (FPB 100K)3
Subahi (FPB 115)10
Kassir Inshore Patrol Craft3
Victory Team (P-46)16
Inshore Patrol Crafts50
Mark V Special Operations Craft10

List Amphibious Vessles and Landing Craft
ClassUnitsNote
Al-Tahaddy LCU2
Safar (Loadmaster) LCU1
LCU (ST Marine)1
Saffar (L 6401) 2 64m Landing craft built by ADSB in UAE
Sabhan (L 4201) 1 42m landing craft built by ADSB in UAE
Sea Keeper 5 16m fast landing craft built by ADSB in UAE
Air-cushioned landing craft 2

List Supply Vessels
ClassUnitsNote
Sawahil ( Dorrar Support Ship)1
Nautilus (Swiftship 176) SDV2

Future ships
  • 1 DSV (Diving Support Vessel)

Landing craft, the procurement programme for the Kuwait Navy included the acquisition of two 64 m landing craft, one 42 m landing craft and five 16 m composite landing craft; all will be built at ADSB’s facilities in the Mussafah industrial area (UAE) all delivered except one 64 m landing craft to be delivered in 2017.[9]

See also

Notes
  1. Official Website Sector of the General Department of the Coast Guard, Kuwait Ministry of Interior, (in Arabic)
  2. Naval forces: over 2,200 people (excluding 500 in coastguard)
  3. "Kuwait – Regional and National Security Considerations". Country Studies. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  4. "Anniversary of Iraqi invasion finds Kuwait free, its neighbor 'contained'". CNN. Archived from the original on 24 March 2007.
  5. "Kuwait Navy". List of Ships in Kuwait Naval Force History
  6. "Saddam's Navy". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  7. "Kuwait Navy".List of Ships in Kuwait Naval Force History
  8. "09KUWAIT465: PROTOCOLS ASSIST IRAQI AND KUWAITI NAVIES IN". Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  9. http://www.ihs.com/events/exhibitions/idex-2013/news/feb-21/Landing-craft-success-in-Kuwait.aspx

References
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