The Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces (SOAF — Arabic: القوات المسلحة لسلطان عمان, transliterated: al-Quwāt ul-Musalḥatu as-Sulṭān ‘Umān) are the Royal Army of Oman (Arabic: الجيش العماني, transliterated: al-Jaīsh al-‘Umānī), Royal Navy of Oman, Royal Air Force of Oman and other defence forces of the Sultanate of Oman. Since their formal establishment in the early 1950s, with British assistance they have twice overcome insurgencies which have threatened the integrity or social structure of the state, and more recently have contributed contingents or facilities to coalitions formed to protect the Persian Gulf states.