Joint Qatari-Turkish squadron revealed

Qatari and Turkish air force personnel with their aircraft at Dukhan Air Base. (Qatari Ministry of Defense)

The Qatari Ministry of Defense (MoD) revealed on 27 August that it has established a joint squadron with the Turkish Air Force (THK).

It said that THK commander General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu visited the joint squadron at Dukhan Air Base, where he viewed progress on its training and the latest facilities.

The MoD illustrated its announcement with a photograph showing a two-seat Turkish F-16D with the tail art of 191 ‘Kaplan' Squadron parked between a Qatari Mirage 2000 and a Rafale outside a large hangar that could be identified as the one on the northeast side of the runway at Dukhan Air Base.

Later in the day, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense (MSB) announced that Gen Kadıoğlu had visited Türkiye's newly deployed permanent air component in Qatar. It showed him planting trees on the north side of the same large hangar and then being flown in the backseat of another Turkish F-16D with the artwork of 132 ‘Hançer' Squadron. At least one single-seat F-16C was also shown, although it was unclear which squadron it was from.

The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) already has a joint squadron with the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF). Initially based in the UK to help train Qatari personnel on their new Typhoon multirole fighters, the squadron moved to Qatar to help protect the FIFA World Cup in November 2022, before moving back to RAF Coningsby in early 2023.

The QEAF and THK operate almost completely different types of aircraft, the exceptions being C-130 transports, although the Qataris have newer models, and Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are based at Dukhan.

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