The UK Ministry of Defence has announced that it will assist Qatar in safeguarding the security of its airspace during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The announcement coincides with the visit this week of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, to the United Kingdom, where he met with the Prime Minister.
Tasked with shielding the Qatari skies during the event will be Joint Typhoon Squadron, also known as 12 Squadron, which is based at RAF Coningsby and operated by RAF (Royal Air Force) and QEAF (Qatar Emirate Air Force) personnel. The deployment will support counter-terrorism efforts through air security operations.
Since its formation as a joint squadron in June 2020, 12 Squadron has regularly exercised in Qatar and the World Cup deployment coincides with a pre-planned exercise.
Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace commented as follows:
“Making sure citizens from across the world can enjoy attending the World Cup, Britain and Qatar will join forces to provide air policing in the skies above the tournament.»
Joint squadrons
Defence cooperation with Qatar has been long standing. Qatar remains the only partner with whom the RAF operates joint squadrons – 11 Squadron Qatari Emiri Air Force, the Joint Hawk Training Squadron at RAF Leeming, and 12 Squadron, the Joint Typhoon Squadron at RAF Coningsby.
The partnerships aim to provide RAF personnel with access to increased aircraft flying hours, give the Qatari Emiri Air Force access to world-class RAF accredited training, and see long-term investment in RAF infrastructure and training facilities.
The QEAF operates 24 Eurofighter Typhoons and 9 Hawk trainers. Together with its bespoke support and training package, and the armament contract with the MBDA company, they involved an outlay of around £6 billion (USD 7.585 million).
The Qatari Emiri Air Force is in charge of overseeing air security for the World Cup, carrying out the majority of operations. The UK’s contribution will be focused on providing its expertise and capability, in part gained from the Olympic experience held in the UK in 2012.
