Qatar and the UK have broadened their defence partnership, with new initiatives including “extending and expanding collaboration and knowledge sharing across the joint UK-Qatar [Eurofighter] Typhoon and [BAE Systems] Hawk aircraft squadrons”.
Announced on 5 December, during a state visit to the UK by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the step marks a “shared commitment to deepen cooperation in support of regional security and to support growth and prosperity”, the UK Ministry of Defence says.
Dedicated to training duties, UK-owned Typhoons of the nations’ joint 12 Sqn are operated from the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) Coningsby base in Lincolnshire, under a bilateral agreement in place since 2018. Two of the unit’s aircraft escorted the Qatari leader’s Boeing 747-8 (A7-HHE) as it entered UK airspace on 2 December.
The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) also has a frontline fleet of Typhoons, with BAE responsible for their final assembly at its Warton site in Lancashire. According to its most recent financial statement, published on 1 August, the UK company had delivered 20 of an eventual 24 examples by mid-year, including two handed over in the first six months of 2024.
Meanwhile, Hawk 167 advanced jet trainers of the QEAF’s 11 Sqn are flown from RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire under a joint structure. In addition to preparing new pilots for Qatar, the RAF in mid-September announced that its first two students had graduated on Qatari-owned jets. Doha has a nine-strong fleet of the single-engined type.
“Our joint Typhoon and Hawk squadrons, and training Qatari [military] cadets in the UK underlines our shared commitment and cooperation to global security and stability,” UK defence secretary John Healey says.
Qatari armed forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Jassim Bin Mohammed Al Mannai says the expanded pact “will facilitate further knowledge exchange and collaboration between our two nations as we continue to stand united in promoting peace, stability and security around the world”.
