United Kingdom Naval Support Facility

{{Short description|British naval base in north-east Bahrain}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}{{Use British English|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox military installation | name = United Kingdom Naval Support Facility | ensign = {{Shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} | ensign_size = | native_name = | partof =  | location = Mina Salman Port, Juffair, Manama | country = Bahrain | image = File:HMS Shoreham deployed on Op KIPION MOD 45167672.jpg | image_size = 300 | alt = | caption = {{HMS|Shoreham|M112|6}} alongside in Bahrain whilst deployed on Operation Kipion | type = Naval support facility | coordinates = {{Coord|26|12|20|N|50|36|55|E|type:landmark_region:BH-13|display=inline, title}} | gridref = | image_map = | image_mapsize = | image_map_alt = | image_map_caption = | pushpin_map = Bahrain | pushpin_mapsize = 300 | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Bahrain | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_image = | pushpin_label = UK Naval Support Facility | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_marksize = | ownership =  | operator = {{Navy|United Kingdom}} | controlledby = | site_other_label =  | site_other =  | site_area = {{Convert|10|acre|m2|abbr=off}} | built = {{Start date and age|1934|df=y}} | used = 1934–1971<br>2018–present | builder = | materials = | height =  | length =  | fate =  | condition = Operational | battles = | events = *Operation Kipion | current_commander =  | past_commanders =  | garrison = UK Maritime Component Command | occupants = 9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron | designations = | website = | footnotes =  }} The '''United Kingdom Naval Support Facility''' ('''UKNSF''') is a Royal Navy (RN) base established in Bahrain on 13 April 1935, originally known as '''HMS ''Jufair''''', as part of the port at Mina Salman. In 1950, the United States Navy (USN) leased space in HMS ''Jufair'', and following Bahraini independence in 1971, took over the base.<ref name=RN-CMF>{{Cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/united-kingdom-component-command-ukmcc/coalition-maritime-forces-cfmcc|title=Combined Maritime Forces (CMF)|website=RoyalNavy.MoD.uk|publisher=Royal Navy|date=n.d.|access-date=19 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013020212/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/united-kingdom-component-command-ukmcc/coalition-maritime-forces-cfmcc/|archive-date=13 October 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 6 December 2014, it was announced that HMS ''Jufair'' would be reestablished as a permanent Royal Navy base.<ref name=BBC-announcement>{{Cite news|last=Gardner|first=Frank|author-link=Frank Gardner (journalist)|date=1 November 2015|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34690895|title=UK builds first permanent Middle East base for 40 years|publisher=BBC News|access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref> On 5 April 2018, the UK Naval Support Facility was officially opened by the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and The Duke of York, representing the United Kingdom.<ref name=Reuters>{{Cite news|last1=El Yakoubi|first1=Aziz|last2=Dadouch|first2=Sarah|date=5 April 2018|editor-last=Roche|editor-first=Andrew|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uk-bahrain/uk-opens-permanent-military-base-in-bahrain-idUKKCN1HC2NR|title=UK opens permanent military base in Bahrain|location=Riyadh|publisher=Reuters|access-date=5 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405225237/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-uk-bahrain/uk-opens-permanent-military-base-in-bahrain-idUKKCN1HC2NR|archive-date=5 April 2018}}</ref>

==History== ===Establishment=== The first presence of the Royal Navy in the Persian Gulf came about from the need to control pirates raiding the British Empire ships east of the Gulf of Suez, especially the East India Company routes to India. In the early 1820s the rulers of Bahrain, Salman and Abdullah Al Khalifa, signed an agreement to try and limit piracy in the area. This was strengthened in 1835 through an agreement signed specifically with the Royal Navy, which addressed the need to stop pirates operating in the area, and limit the slave trade.<ref name=RN-CMF/> In 1902, the first oil was discovered in the area, but commercial extraction did not begin until 1925, when Frank Holmes was given the first license, with the first oil not exported from Bahrain until 1932.<ref name=BritishEmpire-Bahrain>{{Cite web|last=Luscombe|first=Stephen|date=n.d.|url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/bahrain.htm|title=Middle East: Bahrain Protectorate|website=BritishEmpire.co.uk|publisher=The British Empire|access-date=2024-12-30}}</ref>

===HMS ''Jufair''=== left|thumb|upright=.75|HMS ''Jufair'' badge.|alt= After the death of Sheikh Isa in 1932, having handed control of the state in 1921 under British diplomatic pressure to his son Hamad, his advisor Charles Belgrave, with whom he had modernised the state systems and key infrastructure, suggested that they should come to an agreement with the British to open a permanent Royal Navy base within the state. HMS ''Jufair'' opened on {{Start date and age|1935|04|13|df=y}}, as part of the port at Mina Salman.<ref name=RN-CMF/> During World War II, it was bombed by the Royal Italian Air Force as part of an Axis Forces effort to cut off one of the three Allied Forces sources of oil in the Persian Gulf.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fiore|first=Massimiliano|date=1 November 2022|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362013304|title=Mission impossible: the Italian air bombing of Bahrain and the British response|journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies|volume=51|issue=4|pages=683–694 |access-date=30 December 2024|doi=10.1080/13530194.2022.2151417|via=ResearchGate.net}}</ref>

===Transfer to United States Navy=== {{Main|Naval Support Activity Bahrain}} As a result of the Italian raid, and the United States entry into World War II from December 1941, the Royal Navy extended an invitation to the United States Navy (USN), allowing the USN to deploy a small detachment. Post-World War II, the posting was recognised as the U.S. Middle East Force from 1948, a small shore facility that provided logistical and communications support to Marine Expeditionary vessels.<ref name=CNIC.Navy.mil>{{Cite web|url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NSA-Bahrain/About/History/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102203220/https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NSA-Bahrain/About/History/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2022|title=Naval Support Activity Bahrain – History|website=CNREurAfCent.CNIC.Navy.mil|publisher=Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central; United States Navy|date=n.d.|access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref>

In 1971, with Bahrain gaining independence from the United Kingdom, the permanent Royal Navy presence in Bahrain ended. With agreement of the Emir, the USN immediately took on the entire {{Convert|10|acre|m2|abbr=off}} site,<ref name=RN-CMF/> and eight years later the base was named Administrative Support Unit (ASU) Bahrain. In 1992, the title was slightly modified to Administrative Support Unit Southwest Asia to better reflect its regional role. In 1995, the United States Fifth Fleet was formed with its headquarters at ASU Bahrain.<ref name=Reuters/> By 2000, the base had again been renamed; as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, abbreviated NSA Bahrain.<ref name=CNIC.Navy.mil/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Cragg|first=Dan|date=2000|title=Guide to Military Installations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=psjn3zHX4hkC|location= |publisher=Stackpole Books|edition=6th|isbn=9780811727815|via=Google Books}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2024}}

==Reestablishment== In December 2014, it was announced that the Royal Navy would be re-opening a permanent naval base east of Suez at Mina Salman Port<ref name=Reuters/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30355953|title=UK to establish £15m permanent Mid East military base|publisher=BBC News|date=6 December 2014|access-date=1 November 2015}}</ref> to be called '''HMS ''Juffair'''''<ref name=BBC-announcement/> or '''Mina Salman Support Facility''', with construction starting during October 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2015/november/05/151105-foreign-secretary-attends-ceremony-in-bahrain|title=Foreign Secretary attends ceremony for new Royal Navy facility in Bahrain|publisher=Royal Navy|date=5 November 2015|access-date=5 November 2015}}</ref> Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt confirmed that while the aircraft carriers would be able to access facilities while at anchor in the vicinity of the Mina Salman port, they would not be able to berth directly alongside the support facility itself due to draught constraints.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-01-04/20811|title=Bahrain: Military Bases: Written question - 20811|publisher=UK Parliament|date=4 January 2016}}</ref> On 5 April 2018, the United Kingdom Naval Support Facility (UKNSF) was officially opened by Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Britain's Prince Andrew. The new facility can accommodate up to 500 Royal Navy personnel.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/uk-opens-persian-gulf-naval-base-in-bahrain/2018/04/05/b51e3a48-38d7-11e8-af3c-2123715f78df_story.html|title=UK opens Persian Gulf military base in Bahrain|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405165550/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/uk-opens-persian-gulf-naval-base-in-bahrain/2018/04/05/b51e3a48-38d7-11e8-af3c-2123715f78df_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 April 2018}}</ref>

The base is located in an area of Manama (the capital of Bahrain) that is now officially called Juffair ({{Langx|ar|الجفير}}) in the Latin alphabet by the Bahrain government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mia.gov.bh/kingdom-of-bahrain/map-of-bahrain/?lang=en|title=Map of Bahrain – Ministry of Information | وزارة الاعلام | Kingdom of Bahrain|access-date=8 April 2023}}</ref>

==Deployed vessels== As of early 2026, with the withdrawal of {{HMS|Middleton|M34|6}} (the last crewed Royal Navy vessel assigned to the region), HMS Jufair has not had any vessels permanently assigned to the base.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navys-last-gulf-minehunter-hms-middleton-has-returned-to-uk/|title=Royal Navy's last Gulf minehunter HMS Middleton has returned to UK |website=Navy Lookout |date=6 March 2026}}</ref> In the past, UKNSF has been the home port for ships deployed as part of Operation Kipion, which has been the UK's primary military effort in support of peacekeeping and maritime security in the Gulf region, as well as ensuring the safe flow of oil and trade.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Red Sea and Gulf – Operation Kipion|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/operations/red-sea-and-gulf/operation-kipion|website=RoyalNavy.MoD.uk|publisher=Royal Navy|date=|access-date=2020-06-19}}</ref> In addition to ships deployed to the region as part of other deployments, until 2025/26 there were a number of vessels permanently stationed in Bahrain to undertake various tasks. However, these were all withdrawn by early 2026.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy-mine-warfare-update-hms-bangor-extended-in-service-for-5-years/|title=Royal Navy mine warfare update – HMS Bangor extended in service for 5 years |date=21 November 2021 |website=Navy Lookout |access-date=21 November 2025 }}</ref>

Trials have taken place in the Gulf employing autonomous mine countermeasures vessels. In February 2023, the autonomous minehunting vessel RNMB ''Harrier'' arrived in Bahrain to begin trials of autonomous systems in hot weather. The autonomous vessel operated from RFA Cardigan Bay.<ref>{{Cite tweet|url=https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/1625210569786593282|title=Autonomous minehunting vessel RNMB Harrier has arrived in Bahrain and will be based on @RFACardiganBay|number=1625210569786593282|user=NavyLookout|date=13 February 2023|access-date=13 February 2023}}</ref> However, in 2024 ''Cardigan Bay'' returned to the UK for refit<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.navylookout.com/rfa-cardigan-bay-returns-to-uk-but-no-sailors-available-to-take-her-to-shipyard-for-refit/|title=RFA Cardigan Bay returns to UK but no sailors available to take her to shipyard for refit|website=NavyLookout.com|publisher=Navy Lookout|date=17 September 2024|access-date= }}</ref> without being replaced. Two other mine countermeasures vessels were also withdrawn.<ref>{{Cite web|title=HMS Bangor being repaired in Bahrain following damage sustained earlier this year|url=https://www.navylookout.com/hms-bangor-being-repaired-in-bahrain-following-damage-sustained-earlier-this-year/|website=NavyLookout.com|publisher=Navy Lookout|date=9 November 2024|access-date= }}</ref> In 2025 the minehunter HMS ''Bangor'' was also returned to the U.K., with HMS ''Middleton'' following in 2026.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy-mine-warfare-update-hms-bangor-extended-in-service-for-5-years/|title=Royal Navy mine warfare update – HMS Bangor extended in service for 5 years |date=21 November 2021 |website=Navy Lookout |access-date=21 November 2025 }}</ref>

The presence of a general-purpose frigate in the Gulf was also being terminated as of the end of 2025, with the planned decommissioning of HMS ''Lancaster'' and lack of clarity as to whether/how she would be replaced.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/hms-lancaster-to-be-decomissioned-in-bahrain/|title=HMS Lancaster to be decommissioned in Bahrain |date=5 December 2025 |website=Navy Lookout |access-date=5 December 2025 }}</ref>

Initially, the quayside at UKNSF was only accessible to the small mine countermeasures vessels assigned to the base, with larger ships having to be moored at other piers within the Mina Salman port area. In June 2020, a refurbishment of the quay meant that larger vessels, including Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers would be able to utilise the mooring facilities within the UK base itself. The shallow draft of the port continued to preclude very large vessels, such as the Royal Navy's {{Sclass|Queen Elizabeth|aircraft carrier|2}}s, to be able to use the facility itself.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Allison|first=George|date=23 June 2020|url=https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/new-big-ship-jetty-opens-at-british-naval-base-in-bahrain/|title=New 'big ship jetty' opens at British naval base in Bahrain|website=UK Defence Journal|access-date=23 June 2020}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Royal Navy shore establishments}} {{British Armed Forces overseas military bases}} {{Portal bar|United Kingdom|Bahrain|History}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jufair}} Category:Royal Navy shore establishments Category:Military installations of the United Kingdom in other countries Category:Military installations of Bahrain Category:Military installations established in 1935 Category:Bahrain–United Kingdom military relations