LONDON - Over the weekend, the British government announced that Qatar had signed an agreement to purchase two dozen fighter jets.

On December 10, 2017, the U.K. announced, "A multi-billion pound contract to supply Qatar with 24 Typhoon aircraft has been signed today, supporting thousands of British manufacturing jobs. The Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and his Qatari counterpart, Khalid bin Mohammed al Attiyah, oversaw the signing of the deal for 24 Typhoons, building on the Statement of Intent signed in September."

The statement added, "In addition, the agreement signed today by the Qatar and British Governments also includes a clear intention to proceed with the purchase of Hawk aircraft."

Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding on the purchase of 24 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets in September. This deal, according to the British government, is worth six billion pounds and "includes an agreement with MBDA for Brimstone and Meteor missiles and the highly-accurate Raytheon’s Paveway IV UK-manufactured weapon for the jets."

Alongside the fighter jet acquisition, Qatar will procure six Hawk trainers.

Qatar has procured a number of fighter jets in recent years, beginning with a contract in 2015 for 24 Dassault Rafales and an option for a further 12. Earlier this month, Qatar exercised that option to boost its order to 36 Rafales, with an option for another 36. In June, Doha purchased 36 F-15Es from the U.S. and still has an option for a further 36 should it choose to purchase more.

Source: UK Government
Associated URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-in-doha-as-multi-billion-pound-jet-contract-with-qatar-is-signed