The Qatar Emiri Air Force ( ar, القوات الجوية الأميرية القطرية , Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Amiriyah Al-Qatariyah) (QEAF) is the air arm of the armed forces of the state of

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

. It was established in 1974 as a small aerial support wing, although, in modern times It has evolved into a potent well equipped force. The QEAF is headquartered at Al-Udeid Air Base in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...

; the current commander is Brigadier General (Pilot) Jassem Mohamed Al-Mannai.

History

In March 1967, in response to the British announcement that it would withdraw its armed forces from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

, Qatar set up armed forces, creating the Qatar Public Security Forces Air Wing, equipped with two Westland Whirlwind helicopters. In 1971, it acquired a combat capability when it purchased three ex-RAF Hawker Hunter jet fighters, which remained in use until 1981. It was renamed the Qatar Emiri Air Force in 1974.''Air International'' September 1988, p. 136. The air force began a major expansion in 1979, when it ordered six

Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, as ...

trainer/light attack aircraft. This was followed by orders for 14

Mirage F1 The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the popular Mirage III family. During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would ...

supersonic jet fighters in 1980, which were delivered between 1980 and 1984. Twelve

Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

helicopters, armed with HOT anti-tank missiles were received from 1983. Also in 1983, the air force took over the Qatar Police Air Wing.''Air International'' September 1988, pp. 136, 139. In 1991, the Qatari Air Force took part in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

on the side of the allies. In 2005, the Air Force participated in Exercise Eagle Resolve, along with Qatari medical services and emergency medical teams to build interoperability with their US counterparts. The US 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit took part in this exercise to validate the nation's crisis management plan prior to hosting the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. Other acquisitions have been for an order of 59

AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including VI ...

helicopters. The helicopters are used for utility tasks, troop transport, search and rescue, border patrol, special forces operations, and law enforcement. Three additional aircraft were ordered in March 2011 for

Medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

services. By 2010, the Qatar Emiri Air Force's personnel strength was at 2,100 and its equipment included the Mirage 2000-3EDA, the SA 342L Gazelle, and the C-17A Globemaster III. Aircraft either flew out of al-Udeid field or

Doha International Airport Doha International Airport ( ar, مطار الدوحة الدولي) is an airport in Doha, Qatar. It was Qatar's commercial international airport until Hamad International Airport opened on 27 May 2014. While all scheduled commercial traffic ...

and received training from British instructors. In January 2011, the Air Force evaluated the

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

, the

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather Stealth aircraft, stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and attack ...

, the

Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...

, the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle and the

Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range ...

to replace its current fighter inventory of Dassault Mirage 2000-5s. In May 2015, the QAF awarded the contract for 24 Dassault Rafale fighters worth €6.3 billion ($7 billion). In July 2012, the Qatar Air Force ordered a complete pilot training system from Pilatus centering upon the PC-21. The package included ground-based training devices, logistical support and maintenance in addition to 24 PC-21 aircraft. In June 2015, the QAF ordered four additional C-17s, to supplement the existing four delivered in 2009 and 2012. In September 2016, the sale of up to 72 F-15QAs to Qatar was submitted to the US Congress for approval. The deal (for 36 planes plus an option for 36 more), valued at US$21.1 billion, was signed in November 2016. In September 2017, the QAF ordered 24 Typhoon fighter jets from the UK. In December 2017, the QAF ordered 12 additional Rafale fighter jets from France, with an option for 36 more. In August 2018, Qatar announced the construction of a new air base to be named after Emir

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani ( ar, تميم بن حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني; born 3 June 1980, Doha, Qatar) is the Emir of Qatar who succeeded his father, Sheikh Hamad, after Hamad abdicated in his favour. Tamim is the fourth son ...

. In addition to the new air base,

Al Udeid Air Base Al Udeid Air Base ( ar, قاعدة العديد الجوية) is one of two military bases southwest of Doha, Qatar, also known as Abu Nakhlah Airport (). It houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force, United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and othe ...

and Doha International Air Base are to be expanded in order to accommodate aircraft on order.

Airbases

**Flying Wing 5 ***51st Squadron 'Ababil' – 12 × McDonnell Douglas F-15QA Strike Eagle ***52st Squadron 'Ababil' – 12 × McDonnell Douglas F-15QA Strike Eagle ***53st Squadron 'Ababil' – 12 × McDonnell Douglas F-15QA Strike Eagle ** Transport Wing ***10th Transport Squadron – 8 × Boeing C-17 Globemaster III ***12th Transport Squadron – 4 × C-130/J-30 Super Hercules **3rd Rotary Wing ***20th Squadron – 39 × AgustaWestland AW139 *Al Zaeem Mohamed Bin Abdullah Al Attiyah Air College (at Al Udeid Airbase) ***?? Squadron – 8 × MFI-395 Super Mushshak ***31st Squadron – 24 × Pilatus PC-21 ***?? Squadron – 6 × M-346 Master ***6th Close Support Squadron – 14 × SA342 Gazelle (to be replaced with 16 x H125) * Doha International Air Base (at

) **U/I Fighter wing ***Al Dhariat Squadron – 24 × Eurofighter Typhoon **Flying Wing 1 ***7th Air Superiority Squadron – 9 × Mirage 2000-5EDA & 3 × Mirage 2000-5DDA ***11th Close Support Squadron – 9 × Hawk Mk167 **2nd Rotary Wing ***8th Anti-Surface Vessel Squadron – NFH90 ***9th Multi-Role Squadron – NHIndustries NH90 ***41st Squadron – 24 × Boeing AH-64 Apache *

Dukhan / Tamim Airbase Dukhan / Tamim Airbase is a new air base built for the Qatar Emiri Air Force in 2018 near Dukhan. The facility's name is in honour of the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. It is the country's third and newest air base. The facility is not D ...

**Flying Wing 6 ***1st Fighter Squadron 'Al Adiyat' – 31 × Dassault Rafale *

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

**11th RAF/QEAF AJT Training Squadron – 9 × Hawk T2 *

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and ho ...

** No. 12 Squadron RAF – Eurofighter Typhoon

Aircraft

Current inventory

Retired

Previous notable aircraft operated consisted of the

Dassault Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (''A ...

, Westland Commando, Hawker Hunter, Dassault Mirage F1,

Piper PA-34 Seneca The Piper PA-34 Seneca is a twin-engined light aircraft, produced in the United States by Piper Aircraft. It has been in non-continuous production since 1971. The Seneca is primarily used for personal and business flying. Development The Senec ...

, Boeing 707,

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

, Westland Whirlwind,

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...

, Britten-Norman Islander, and the

Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter that was designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation. It is capable of carrying up to 20 passengers as well as ...

helicopter.

References