A direct instantaneous force control scheme based on FOA-RBF was proposed for the tubular linear switched reluctance actuator with radial flux. The FOA-RBF was trained offline by the samples obtained from bench measurements, and nonlinear mapping from current and translator position to output force was completed. After training, FOA-RBF was applied for the realtime estimation of output force, and dynamic adjustment of required force between adjacent phases was realized with the combination of force distribution function. The output force ripple and peak phase current were effectively restrained. The proposed control algorithm makes use of the advantages of generalization and approximation ability of FOA-RBF. Fast force estimation and high precision are achieved, which can meet the requirement of realtime control. Based on the actual measurements of force and electromagnetic characteristics, the system simulation model was constructed and applied to verify the control method. Finally, the experimental platform was built, and the effectiveness of FOA-RBF and proposed control algorithm is further verified.