Thumrait () is a small town and

wilayat A wilayah ( or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu, Pashto and ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "''w-l-y''", "to govern": a ''wāli''—"g ...

(province) of the

Dhofar Governorate The Dhofar Governorate () is the largest of the 11 Governorates of Oman, governorates in the Oman, Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah Governorate and the southern border wi ...

in southern

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. As of the 2020 Omani census, Thumrait had a population of 10,552. In ancient times Thumrait was an important point on the Arabian peninsula's caravan routes.

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

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 ( or RAFO) is the air arm of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces, Armed Forces of Oman. History Sultan of Oman's Air Force era The Sultan of Oman's Air Force (SOAF) was formed with United Kingdom, British personnel an ...

(RAFO) station. Originally an oil depot,

RAFO Thumrait RAFO Thumrait airbase is a military airfield 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 F-16s. The United States Air Forc ...

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 propulsion, 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 dev ...

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

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is a British-French supersonic 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. As of 2025, the Jaguar remains in service with the ...

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 , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

around the time of the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, and later during the

War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in t ...

. Operations did shift though to

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

, which was closer to Afghanistan. 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) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

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

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

s at Thumrait Air Base. A subsequent Indo-Omani exercise, ‘Eastern Bridge-II,’ took place in 2011 at Indian Air Force Station Jamnagar (

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

)."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 desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''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 Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

References

{{Dhofar Governorate Populated places in Oman Populated places in the Dhofar Governorate

Military

Exercises held at Thumrait Air Base

Climate

See also

References