Qatar Emiri Air Force
|
Qatari Air Force |
|
|---|---|
 Emblem of the QEAF |
|
| Lineup | 1974 |
| Country |
 Qatar
|
| Armed forces | Qatari armed forces |
| Type | Armed forces ( air force ) |
| Strength | 1,500 |
| management | |
| commander | Major General Mubarak Al Khayareen |
| insignia | |
| Aircraft cockade |
 
|
| flag |
|
The Qatari Air Force ( Engl. : Qatar Air Force , abbreviated QEAF ) is the air force of the Armed Forces of the Emirate of Qatar .
history
The Qatari Air Force was established in 1974, three years after independence from Great Britain .
In the early days, the equipment was mainly of British origin, such as the Hawker Hunter . After the acquisition of the Mirage F1 in 1980, a switch to the armaments supplier France began , whereby in addition to the aircraft fleet, the entire infrastructure of the military airfields was renewed.
British pilots and French ground crews are still largely used today. In order to supplement or even replace these in the future, young Qataris are increasingly being trained as pilots and aircraft mechanics.
The QEAF consists of two squadrons, one with combat aircraft and one with support aircraft and helicopters.
Successor to the Mirage 2000
An evaluation was carried out since the beginning of 2011 to replace the outdated Mirage 2000-5 . The Eurofighter , F-35 Lightning II , F / A-18E / F Super Hornet , F-15E and the Dassault Rafale were traded as possible candidates. On April 30, 2015 it was announced that the Rafale should be procured as a successor. On May 4, 2015, the contract for the delivery of 24 machines for 6.3 billion euros was signed. The contract also includes associated weapons and training for 36 pilots, as well as an option for twelve additional machines, which was towed in late 2017. Deliveries are planned from 2019 to 2022, with the first season being set up in Mont-de-Marsan , France .
In addition, Qatar ordered 36 F-15QA combat aircraft from Boeing in mid-2017 for $ 12 billion . and in December 2017 at BAE Systems ( Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH ) 24 Eurofighter Typhoon for around 5 billion pounds , including a support and training package. The agreement with BAE Systems also includes the supply of missiles of the types Brimstone and Meteor and the precision bombs of the type Paveway IV . In addition, there should be more regular cooperation between the Royal Air Force and the Qatari Air Force , which also provides for the training of pilots and ground personnel in the United Kingdom .
Air bases
Current equipment
Planes
Status: end of 2018
| Aircraft | origin | use | version | active | Ordered | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warplanes | |||||||
| Boeing F-15 Eagle |
 United States
|
Multipurpose fighter | F-15QA Strike Eagle | 36 | |||
| Dassault Rafale |
 France
|
Multipurpose fighter | 1 | 35 | |||
| Eurofighter Typhoon |
 European Union
|
Multipurpose fighter | 24 | ||||
| Dassault Mirage 2000 |
France
|
Multipurpose fighter | Mirage 2000-5EDA | 9 | |||
| Transport and tanker aircraft | |||||||
| Boeing C-17 Globemaster III |
United States
|
Strategic transport aircraft | C-17A | 8th | |||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules |
United States
|
Tactical combat zone transporter | C-130J-30 Super Hercules | 4th | |||
| Airbus A330 MRTT |
European Union
|
Tanker aircraft | 2 | ||||
| Training aircraft | |||||||
| Dassault Mirage 2000 |
France
|
two-seat fighter aircraft | Mirage 2000-5EDDA | 3 | |||
| Alpha Jet |
France
|
Jet trainer | Alpha Jet E | 6th | |||
| BAE Hawk |
 United Kingdom
|
Jet trainer | Hawk 100 | 9 | |||
| Pilatus PC-21 |
 Switzerland
|
Training aircraft | 24 | ||||
| Saab Safari |
 Pakistan
|
Training aircraft | MFI-395 Super Mushshak | 4th | 4th | ||
helicopter
Status: end of 2018
| Aircraft | origin | use | version | active | Ordered | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing AH-64 Apache |
United States
|
Attack helicopter | AH-64E | 24 | ||
| Aérospatiale SA 342 Gazelle |
France
|
Multipurpose helicopter | SA 342G SA 342L |
12 2 |
||
| AgustaWestland AW139 |
 Italy
|
Medium multipurpose helicopter | 20th | |||
| NHIndustries NH90 |
European Union
|
Multipurpose helicopter | TTH NFH |
16 12 |
Option for a further 12 machines (6 TTH and 6 NFH) | |
| Westland Sea King |
United Kingdom
|
Transport helicopter Multipurpose helicopter SAR helicopter |
Commando Mk.2A Commando Mk.2C Commando Mk.3 |
11 | ||
| Airbus Helicopters H125 |
European Union
|
Training helicopter | 12 |
Web links
- Qatar Air Force at GlobalSecurity.org (Eng.)
- Armed forces overview of the Qatari armed forces at GlobalDefence.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ Qatar buys French fighter jets. In: Spiegel-Online . AFP , May 4, 2015, accessed February 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Qatar orders another Dassault Rafale. Flug Revue, December 7, 2017, accessed February 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Jeremy Binnie: First Qatari Rafales to arrive in 2019. Jane's Information Group , July 10, 2018, accessed February 8, 2019 .
- ^ Greg Waldron: Qatar orders 36 F-15QA fighters. In: Flightglobal. Flight International , June 16, 2017, accessed February 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Qatar orders Eurofighter. Flug Revue , December 11, 2017, accessed February 8, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Craig Hoyle: World Air Force 2019. (PDF) Flight International, December 8, 2018, accessed February 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Dassault hands over first Rafale to Qatar. Flug Revue , February 6, 2019, accessed on February 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Qatar buys Pilatus PC-21. Flug Revue, July 23, 2012, accessed July 10, 2014 .
- ↑ a b NH90 for Qatar under contract. Flug Revue, August 21, 2018, accessed February 8, 2019 .