The Royal Bahraini Air Force (Arabic: سلاح الجو الملكي البحريني, abbreviated as RBAF, formerly known as Bahrain Amiri Air Force) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF). Originally formed as the BDF Air Wing in 1976, it became an independent service branch in 1987. The RBAF was involved in combat operations during the Gulf War and the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war.

Bahrain has developed a well-equipped air force and was the second country in the Gulf Cooperation Council after Saudi Arabia to acquire advanced fighters, namely the F-16C/D in 1989, which have been the RBAF's main combat aircraft since then. Bahrain was the first country in the Gulf to use the F-16. In the early 2010s Bahrain decided to replace its older F-5E and F-5F fighters with more modern planes, as well as to modernize its existing F-16 fleet. It ordered 16 new planes of the F-16 Block 70 variant, which it expects to acquire in 2024.

The Bahrain Defence Force, which itself was formed in 1968, just before the country became independent from United Kingdom in 1971, first organized an air wing in May 1976 at Riffa Air Base, which received its first aircraft, four Bo 105 helicopters, in February 1977. This occurred after Bahrain sent the air wing's future members to receive training from allied countries in 1974. The small force grew gradually, receiving 12 Augusta Bell Twin Huey helicopters in 1978, and in the mid-1980s the air wing became the new Bahrain Amiri Air Force (BAAF). In the early years the Bahraini Air Force participated in training with other countries and helped recover U.S. Navy sailors after the USS Stark incident during the Iran-Iraq War. Because of regional conflicts like the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War, during the 1980s and 1990s Bahrain expanded its military, including its Air Force, with the assistance of the United States.

In 1985 Bahrain acquired its first fighter jets, the F-5, and established the 6th Fighter Squadron at Muharraq Air Base. After Bahraini air crews became familiar with the F-5, they underwent training to prepare to use the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The first Bahraini F-16s, the F-16C/D variants, were acquired in 1990. This made Bahrain the first Gulf country to fly the F-16. Before this, the country considered several American and European advanced fighter aircraft, including the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, Mirage 2000, and Tornado. Bahraini pilots were trained on F-16 operations at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida in 1989, and the first F-16 was formally handed over to the BAAF in March of that year. The first four F-16s were sent to Bahrain, flown by Bahraini pilots, in May 1990.

Around this time the construction of Isa Air Base was complete, which is where the Bahraini F-16s have been based. Both the F-16 and the F-5 were operated by Bahrain in the Gulf War, during which the BAAF carried out air strikes against Iraq. The new Bahraini F-16s were flown by the 1st Tactical Fighter Squadron in Operation Desert Storm, operating alongside coalition forces, which included 200 American aircraft based out of the Isa Air Base, along with the BAAF. The operations lasted from 25 January 1991 until the end of the war, with an average of six sorties per day.

A second batch of ten F-16s commenced delivery in 2000 under the Peace Crown II program. The new aircraft represented a further increase in the air force's combat capabilities, as they were equipped to carry the AMRAAM missile, first used by the USAF in 1992. Air-to-air armament had been limited to the short-range AIM-9M Sidewinder missile and internal cannon through the Gulf War. After the war, the country began to acquire more advanced weapons, including the AIM-7M Sparrow radar-guided air-to-air missile and LANTIRN navigation and targeting pod for air-to-ground weapons that would also be acquired such as the GBU-10/12 laser guided bombs and AGM-65D/G Maverick air-to-ground missiles.

In 1994 the 8th Helicopter Squadron was established with Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, followed by the 9th Helicopter Squadron in 1997, for the purpose of providing close air support to the Royal Bahraini Army. In 1999 the Air Defense Wing, equipped with the Hawk missile system, was brought under the control of the Air Force.

In July 2000, Bahrain signed a deal with BAE Systems to establish a pilot academy based around the Hawk Trainer, similar to the NFTC in Canada. Subsequently, orders were placed for Slingsby T67 Firefly and BAE Hawk trainers. The first trainers were delivered in October 2006.