Will they or won’t they? Has Qatar committed to more Typhoons?
Following the State Visit to the UK by Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, an official joint statement was issued on Thursday 5 December, announcing that the two countries had agreed to extend the existing partnership between the Qatar Amiri Air Force (Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyyah Al-Amiriyyah Al-Qatariyyah) and the Royal Air Force beyond 2030. This extension to the agreement would, it said, “allow for the continued development of capabilities through the training, exercises, and graduation of Qatari and British pilots in both countries.” The statement said that in order to enable this partnership, “Qatar will procure an additional 12 Typhoon jets.”
On Friday 6 September, the online statement was edited, removing the reference to the additional Typhoons. The Financial Times seized on the change, but reported that: “A spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry declined to comment on the reason for the removal.”
There has been speculation that Qatar might increase its Typhoon fleet from 24 to 36 aircraft ever since the Emirate ordered the type, in September 2017. Over the past year or so, a potential Qatari order for 12 aircraft has regularly featured in Eurofighter briefings about future sales prospects. Qatar’s Typhoons (which are equipped with the Leonardo ECRS.Mk 0 AESA radar) are the most advanced in service, and are the most capable fighter aircraft in service across the GCC nations, and so an order for 12 more would not be entirely unexpected.
Typhoon forms part of what the Joint Statement by the State of Qatar and UK on the Occasion of HH the Amir’s Visit called a “Generational Security Partnership.”
The statement said that: “The UK and Qatar enjoy historic and enduring security ties recognising that the two joint squadrons (Typhoon and Hawk), the UK’s first joint air squadrons since World War II, are central parts of our defence partnership. The formation of 12 Squadron is a symbol of our dynamic partnership in the skies and has enhanced our interoperability and collective operational capability, as demonstrated by the provision of air security to the FIFA World Cup 2022. Building on this success we look forward to continuing the unique partnership, aircrew training and decision making of the joint squadron.”
It went on to say that: “Today, we have taken a significant step forward in realising this ambition. We have agreed… to strengthen our respective defence capabilities through broadening our cooperation on the Typhoon and Hawk partnerships.”
BAE Systems has not commented on the reported planned procurement, nor on the changes to the Qatari statement.
A BAE Systems spokesperson said: “We welcome the ongoing discussions between the UK and State of Qatar to broaden their co-operation on the Typhoon and Hawk partnership.
“There remains great interest in Typhoon and we are currently pursuing a number of orders in the Middle East and Europe, in addition to further expected orders from our European Eurofighter partners.
“In the meantime, our focus remains on delivering on our existing Typhoon and Hawk commitments to the Qatar Emiri Air Force.”
