Jet handover: The Qatar Air Force officially took delivery of its first Dassault Rafále at the Merignac plant.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the French defense company Dassault handed over the first of 24 Rafále aircraft originally ordered (twelve more were ordered in December 2017) to Qatar. This continues the company’s long-standing partnership with Qatar; prior to the Rafále, Qatar had already purchased the Mirage F1, the Alpha Jet and the Mirage 2000 from Dassault.
As if the new fighter jets were not enough, the small emirate – currently cut off from its Gulf partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – has also ordered 36 F-15Qs and 24 Eurofighter T3s in addition to the Dassault order. The bottom line is that this means a ninefold (!) increase in the jet fleet, which is also accompanied by large personnel and training requirements. The contract with Dassault therefore also provides for the training of pilots and technicians from Qatar in France.
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