LONDON–The first of 24 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft has been handed over to Qatar as the Arabian Gulf state continues the rapid expansion of its air force.
The aircraft, built by BAE Systems as part of a £6 billion ($7.24 billion) government-to-government contract between London and Doha, was handed over during a ceremony at BAE’s facility at Warton, England, on Aug. 15, just less than five years since the contract was signed in December 2017. Qatar now becomes the ninth customer for the Eurofighter and the third export client secured by the UK for the four-nation fighter jet.
Deliveries will begin later this month, paving the way for the Qatari aircraft to support the protection of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, which is being hosted by Doha at year’s end. Qatar’s first Eurofighter made its first flight last November.
The UK will help support the protection operations. A joint UK-Qatari Typhoon unit—set up in mid-2020 and featuring UK and Qatari pilots—will jointly fly air security missions using both UK and Qatari Typhoons.
The same squadron has been supporting Qatari pilots converting to the type. A second unit—the Joint Hawk Training Squadron flying, nine BAE Hawk jet trainers and based in the UK—also is helping train Qatari pilots for the front line.
The delivery of the Typhoons and Hawks as well as the formation of the joint squadrons in the UK comprise part of the UK’s Qatar Air Program. It consists of a series of contracts between the Qatar Armed Forces (QAF) and the UK government.
“Today’s Typhoon delivery is another exciting milestone for our joint UK-Qatar collaboration, which will see the sharing of training and expertise between our respective air forces and will ensure both our nations stay at the forefront of defense capability,” UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says. “This joint project underlines how much Britain values its Middle East partnerships.”
Qatar’s embassy in London said the deal represented the largest Typhoon export deal in the last decade and was “testament to our [UK/Qatar] unique bilateral relationship.”
There has been no formal acknowledgment of the handover by the Qatari defense ministry, and it is likely it will wait until the delivery of the aircraft into Qatar.
The contract for Typhoons includes 20 single-seat aircraft and four twin-seat aircraft. Each is equipped with the Mk. 0 variant of the European Common Radar System active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Qatar is the second customer to take delivery of an AESA-equipped Eurofighter after Kuwait.
Qatar’s Eurofighter order was the third major combat aircraft acquisition by the Gulf State after placing contracts with France for the Dassault Rafale and with the U.S. for Boeing’s F-15QA “Ababil” Advanced Eagle.
This three-pronged fleet, numbering 96 aircraft, will replace the country’s Dassault Mirage 2000 force and grow the country’s fighter inventory eightfold.
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