Royal Brunei Navy
The Royal Brunei Navy (, abbreviated TLDB) is the naval defence force of Brunei Darussalam. It is a small but relatively well-equipped force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions and to deter and defend the Brunei waters against attack mounted by sea-borne forces. The Royal Brunei Navy was established on 14 June 1965, the second unit created after The Royal Brunei Armed Forces. The RBN is based in Muara, which is situated 4 km from Muara Town with the majority of the crews being Malays. Since 1977, The Royal Brunei Navy has  been equipped with missile gun boats and other coastal patrol craft. All the ships names are prefixed KDB as in "Kapal Diraja Brunei" (Royal Brunei Ship in Malay). The Royal Brunei Navy has been commanded by First Admiral Pg Dato Seri Pahlawan Norazmi Pg Hj Muhammad since 13 March 2015. History. The Royal Brunei Navy was formed on 14 June 1965, four years after the formation of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. It was initially known as Boat Section of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. Its strength was only 18 in number, including one officer from the First Battalion who  had attended a basic military course in Malaya in 1961 until 1964. This Boat Section was equipped with a number of aluminium boats, known as "Temuai" in Malay and Fast Assault Boats (FABs). The role of the Boat Section was solely to provide transportation of infantry elements to the interior of Brunei. As the organisation expanded with the aid of stable economic growth, the Boat Section was renamed the Boat Company in 1966. The Boat Company received 3 river patrol boats in 1966. These boats were named KDB "Bendahara", KDB "Maharajalela" and KDB "Kermaindera". All the ships were crewed by  Bruneians, led by a qualified commanding officer. In the same year, the strength of the Boat Company was enhanced with hovercraft vessels type SR.N5, followed by SR.N6 in 1968. The first fast patrol craft was accepted in 1968 and named KDB "Pahlawan". It became the first flagship for the Boat Company. The Boat Company was reorganised as Angkatan Laut Pertama, Askar Melayu DiRaja Brunei (ALP AMDB or the First Sea Battalion, Royal Brunei Malay Regiment in Malay). It was one of the larger branches of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment. During that time, the estimated strength of Angkatan Laut Pertama, Askar  Melayu DiRaja Brunei was 42 personnel including an officer, while assets consisted of one fast patrol craft, 3 river patrol boats, 2 hovercraft vessels, fast assault boats, a few long boats and "Temuai" (aluminium boats). In 1971, the First Sea Battalion received two more coastal patrol craft, KDB "Saleha" and KDB "Masna". The First Sea Battalion was reorganised again on 1 October 1991 as the Royal Brunei Navy due to the growth of the armed forces in Brunei after independence from the United Kingdom. In 2019, the RBN unveiled the Digital Disruptive Pattern BDU in digital blue colors at the  58th anniversary celebration at the Bolkiah Garrison. Roles and organisation. The roles of the Royal Brunei Navy are: The Royal Brunei Navy is divided into four main components as follows: Ships of Royal Brunei Navy. The current fleet of the Royal Brunei Navy is as follows: Others. Fisheries and Industry/Primary Resources ministries also operate 16m patrol boats built by Syarikat Cheoy Lee Shipyards (delivered 2002) Historical equipment. F2000 ("Nakhoda Ragam"-class) corvettes. The Royal Brunei Navy aimed to undergo a large-scale modernisation, with the upgrading of the Muara Naval Base and the purchase of 3 British-built corvettes  from BAE Systems Naval Ships, Scotland. The ships were armed with MBDA Exocet Block II anti-ship missiles and MBDA Seawolf surface-to-air missiles. The contract was awarded to GEC-Marconi in 1995: the Nakhoda Ragam class OPVs were launched in January 2001, June 2001 and June 2002 at the then BAE Systems Marine yard at Scotstoun. These were completed but not delivered from BAE Systems Naval Ships in Scotstoun due to claims by the Royal Brunei Navy that the ships fail to meet the required specifications. The contract dispute was the subject of arbitration. When the dispute was  settled, the vessels were handed over to Royal Brunei Technical Services in June 2007. In 2007, Brunei contracted the German Lürssen ship yard to find a new customer for the three ships, though by 2011 the vessels remained unsold and laid up at Barrow-in-Furness. These ships were eventually purchased by the Indonesian Navy and renamed Bung Tomo-class corvettes. Muara Naval Base. 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 Royal Brunei Navy. 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. Joint exercises and training. The Royal Brunei Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy co-operate with each other through an annual joint exercise, code-named Exercise Pelican. Officers and soldiers of the Royal Brunei Navy are also sent overseas for advanced training, generally to Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, New Zealand , Singapore, UK and United States of America. Exercise SEAGULL 03-07, which was held in Brunei from 2 to 10 September 2007 between the Royal Brunei Navy and their Philippine Navy counterparts. Participating ships include the Philippine Navy corvette BRP "Rizal" (PS-74) and patrol gunboat BRP "Federico Martir" (PG-385), and Royal Brunei Navy ships KDB "Pejuang" P03, KDB "Seteria" P04, KDB "Perwira" P14 and KDB "Penyerang" P16. They conducted series of drills, including Mine Clearance, Under Water Operations, Replenishment at Sea, Night Encounter Exercise, Boarding Exercise and Other Naval Tactical Exercises. Museum. KDB Maharajalela (P-22) is on display at "Muzium  Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei" or Royal Brunei Armed Forces Museum, Bandar Seri Begawan.