US, Bahrain inaugurate air-defence command post

The inauguration ceremony was held at Bahrain's Camp Ras al-Bar on 1 December 2025. (Bahrain News Agency)

The United States and Bahrain inaugurated a new combined command post (CCP) for air defence, it was announced on 1 December.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Admiral Brad Cooper and several senior Bahraini officials including Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain's crown prince, prime minister, and deputy supreme commander; Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, commander in chief of the Bahrain Defence Force; and Major General Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the commander of the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF).

CENTCOM described the new facility at Camp Ras al-Bar as the second bilateral air-defence command post in the region and said it would serve as “a hub for integrated air defence planning, co-ordination, and operations”. It announced the opening of a joint CCP for air defence at Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base on 3 November.

The Bahraini coverage of the inauguration identified the facility only as a joint command post, emphasising that it reflected the kingdom's close military relationship with the US.

The Bahraini media reported the opening of Camp Ras al-Bar in February 2024, when it was identified as an RBAF base. Satellite imagery shows it is located southwest of Sheikh Isa Air Base in the south of the kingdom and now operates one of the RBAF's new Patriot air-defence systems.

For more information, please seeBahrain inaugurates Patriot air-defence base .