The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), natively known as (TLDB) is the naval force of Brunei. It is a small but relatively well-equipped military force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions, and to deter and defend the Brunei waters against attack mounted by seaborne forces.
The forerunner of the RBN was established on 14 June 1965, the second unit created after the formation of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF). The RBN is based and headquartered at Muara Naval Base, from Muara Town, with the majority of the enlisted sailors being Malays. Since 1977, the RBN has been equipped with missile gun boats and other coastal patrol craft. All the ships names are prefixed KDB, as in (Royal Brunei Ship in Malay). Captain Haji Mohamad Sarif Pudin has been acting commander of the RBN since 30 December 2022, succeeding First Admiral Pengiran Dato Seri Pahlawan Norazmi who was appointed the RBN 12th commander on 13 March 2015.
History
Early years
The fourth anniversary parade was celebrated on 31 May 1965, and the unit was thereafter dubbed the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (RBMR). Additionally, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah declared that the regiment will shortly be outfitted with swift patrol boats, armoured vehicles, helicopters, and hovercraft. The Boat Section was formed on 14 June 1965, four years after the formation of the RBMR. Its manning strength was only eighteen personnel, including one officer from the First Battalion who had attended a basic military course in Federation of Malaya in 1961 until 1964. Important military equipment, including motor gunboats, helicopters, and hovercraft, was acquired in 1966. On 12 March 1966, a Borneo Bulletin Report said that the RBMR was the only infantry unit in the world to get a modern SR.N5 hovercraft for use in combat. The first fast patrol craft was accepted in 1968 and named KDB Pahlawan. It became the first flagship for the Boat Company. and , named after Princess Masna, were purchased in 1970; however, they didn't arrive in Brunei until 26 January 1971. With a peak speed of , the wooden-hulled boats were outfitted with light machine guns on the bridge and Oerlikon 20 mm cannons fore and aft. A revised 1971 Brunei-UK Agreement transferred all internal security responsibilities from Britain to the Sultanate, with the UK solely being accountable for Brunei's exterior defense. The SR.N6 hovercraft was acquired in the same year. Under the new Army Enactment, new service regulations went into effect on 1 June 1971. The RBMR was renamed as the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), or , on 1 January 1984, as part of an attempt to reform the armed forces following independence. Since 1984, the flotilla also maintained its routine maritime training exercises with the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Republic of Singapore Navy, and the Royal Thai Navy. As Brunei's military forces grew, the First Flotilla was renamed again on 1 October 1991, becoming the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN). The RBAF was reorganised in 1991 as a result of Bruneian government's emphasis on the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which is recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea governing maritime regulations and is enforced by numerous nations due to the growing significance of the maritime boundary issue. though opinion in the shipyard was that they were too complex for a small navy to operate. The contract dispute became the subject of arbitration. When the dispute was settled in favour of BAE Systems, the vessels were handed over to Royal Brunei Technical Services (RBTS) in June 2007. These ships were eventually purchased in 2013 by the Indonesian Navy for , or half of the original unit cost, and renamed . and are two new (OPVs) The four s (, , , and ) The Perwira-class patrol boats were all officially decommissioned in 2016–2017. In 2019, the RBN unveiled the Singapore-based Force-21 manufactured Digital Disruptive Pattern (D2P) battle-dress uniform in digital blue colours at the 58th anniversary celebration at the Bolkiah Garrison.
In April 2021, the RBN installed the Royal Brunei Navy Full Mission Bridge Simulator (RBN FMBS) to provide synthetic training for all sailors of the RBN. The RBN received the two former Fearless-Class patrol vessels, , which was retired on 27 August 2019, and , which was decommissioned on 11 December 2020, as a gift in March 2023 after they had been renovated. They are currently referred to as and in RBN service, which means "truthful." They are long, weighing .
Roles and organisation
thumb|A member of the Naval Surface Action Group during [[National Day (Brunei)|National Day 2023|alt=]]
Roles
The roles of the RBN are:
- Deterrence against attack mounted by sea-borne forces;
- Protection of national offshore resources;
- Maintaining Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC);
- Surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ);
- Maritime search and rescue operations;
- Support of units of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces operational activities;
- Provide support for other security agencies and ministries as ordered by Ministry of Defence of Brunei.
Organisation
The RBN is divided into four main components as follows:
- Fleet
- Administration
- Training
- Logistics
Headquarters
The administration of First Sea Battalion moved to a new base at Jalan Tanjong Pelumpong Muara in 1974. This base is now known as the Muara Naval Base. The Muara Naval Base serves as the headquarters of the RBN. It was expanded in 1997 to include facilities to support three offshore support vessels. Muara Naval Base is frequently visited by foreign warships, most notable are the frequent visits by British Royal Navy ships. Persekutuan Pengakap Negara Brunei Darussalam visits the naval base sometimes too.
Commander
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | Portrait
! rowspan="2" | Name<br />
! colspan="3" | Term of office
! rowspan="2" |
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
| 1
| 100px|alt=
| Major General<br>Pengiran Ibnu Basit<br>
| 1965
| 1966
| years
|
|-
| 2
| 100px|alt=
| Colonel<br>Kefli Razali<br>
| 22 April 1983
| 30 September 1986
|
|
|-
| 3
| 80px
| Lieutenant Colonel<br>Noeh Abdul Hamid<br>
| 30 September 1986
| 30 December 1988
|
|
|-
| 4
| 80px
| Lieutenant Colonel<br>Shahri Mohammad Ali<br>
| 30 December 1988
| 1 November 1991
|
|
|-
| 5
| 80px
| Lieutenant Colonel<br>Abdul Latif Damit<br>
|
|
|
|
|-
| (2)
| 100px|alt=
| Colonel<br>Kefli Razali<br>
|
|
|
|
|-
| 7
| 80px
| Colonel<br>Joharie Matussin<br>
|
|
|
| <!---->
|-
| 8
| 100px|alt=
| First Admiral<br>Abdul Halim Hanifah<br>
|
|
|
|
|-
| 9
| 100px|alt=
| First Admiral<br>Abdul Aziz<br>
|
|
|
|
|-
| 10
| 100px|alt=
| First Admiral<br>Pengiran Norazmi<br>
|
|
|
|
|-
| 11
| 100px|alt=
| First Admiral<br>Othman Suhaili<br>
|
|
|
|
|-
| 12
| 100px|alt=
| First Admiral<br>Spry Serudi<br>
|
|
|
|
|-style=background:#e6e6aa
| 13
| 100px|alt=
| Captain<br> Mohamad Sarif Pudin<br>
|
| 10 January 2025
|
|
|}
Rank structure
Commissioned officer
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
{|style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0px 12px 12px 0px"
|}
Enlisted
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
{|style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin:0px 12px 12px 0px"
|}
Equipment
The current fleet of the Royal Brunei Navy is as follows:
{|class="wikitable sortable" style=valign:top
!class<br>or<br>name!!image!!builder!!type!!year<br>entered<br>service!!details!!ship name,<br>pennant<br>no.
|-
!colspan=7 style=background:lavender|offshore patrol boat
|-
|||200px|alt=||Lürssen Werft, Bremen-Vegesack, ||offshore<br>patrol<br>vessel||2011-2014|| OPV ordered from Lürssen Werft.<br>
Armament:
- 1× Bofors 57 mm Mk3
- 2× Oerlikon 20mm/85 KAA
- 4× Exocet MM40 Block 3
|<br><br><br>
|-
!colspan=7 style=background:lavender|Inshore patrol boat
|-
|Ijtihad class||center|frameless|alt=||Lürssen Werft, Bremen-Vegesack, ||patrol boat||2010|| PV ordered from Lürssen Werft.<br>
Armament:
- 1× Rheinmetall MLG 27 mm gun
- 2× 7.62 mm machine gun
|Itjihad (17)<br><br>Syafaat (19)<br>Afiat (20)
|-
|Fearless class||center|220px|alt=||ST Engineering, ||patrol vessel||2023||Formerly commissioned into the Singapore Navy, later gifted to Brunei in March 2023.
Armament:
- 1× Oto Melara 76 mm gun
- 4× STK 50MG 12.7 mm (0.50 in) HMG
- Mistral missile
- EuroTorp A244/S Mod 1 torpedoes
|As-Siddiq (95)<br>Al-Faruq (96)
|-
!colspan=7 style=background:lavender|fast attack craft
|-
|Mustaed class|| ||Marinteknik Shipyard Tuas, ||fast<br>attack<br>craft||2011|| FAC based on Lürssen Werft FIB25-012 design. Built in Singapore.<br>
Armament:
- 2× 7.62 mm machine gun
|Mustaed (21)
|-
|||220px|alt=||Vosper Thornycroft, ||fast<br>attack<br>craft||1978–1979|| FAC ordered from Vosper Thornycroft. Total of 3 ships. Decommissioned April 2011. 1 in Brunei service and 2 donated to Indonesia as KRI Salawaku (642) and KRI Badau (643).<br>
Armament:
- 2× Oerlikon 30 mm GCM-BO1
- 2× Aérospatiale Exocet MM38 (removed)
|Waspada (P02)
|-
!colspan=7 style=background:lavender|landing craft
|-
|Serasa class|| ||Transfield Shipbuilding, Henderson, ||amphibious<br>warfare<br>craft<br>(LCM)||1996||Armament:
- 2× 20 mm/90 calibre Oerlikon GAM B01 AA
- 2× 7.62 mm machine guns
|Serasa (L33)<br>Teraban (L34)
|-
|Damuan class|| ||Cheverton Workboats, Cowes, ||landing<br>craft<br>utility||1976-1977||unarmed, carries 30 tons of cargo||Puni (L32)
|-
!colspan=7 style=background:lavender|support vessel
|-
|–|| ||Cheverton Boatworks, Cowes, ||support<br>launch||1982||used as tug and dive tender||Burong Nuri
|}
Others
Personnel launches used for riverine patrols
- Aman (01)
- Damai (02)
- Sentosa (04)
- Sejahteru (06)
Fisheries and Industry / Primary Resources ministries also operate patrol boats built by Syarikat Cheoy Lee Shipyards (delivered 2002).
Joint exercises and training
The Royal Brunei Navy has an annual joint exercise and training those are CARAT,RIMPAC,AMNEX,Ex Pelican and etc. Officers and sailors of the Royal Brunei Navy are also sent overseas for advanced training, generally to Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, and United States of America.
Gallery
See also
- Naval Surface Action Group
- Royal Brunei Navy Primary School
- Royal Brunei Navy Religious School