Qatar signs deal for 24 Pilatus PC-21 trainers

HE the Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah witnesses the signing of an agreement between Qatar Emiri Air Force and Pilatus for the purchase of 24 PC-21 trainer aircraft

Qatar is to acquire a fleet of 24 Pilatus PC-21 turboprop trainers and associated equipment, the Swiss manufacturer has announced.
“The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) selected the PC-21 as their fixed-wing basic and advanced training aircraft, after a thorough evaluation both in Switzerland and in Qatar,” Pilatus says.
To equip a new air force academy to be established in Qatar, the aircraft will be accompanied by a ground-based training system, and be “directly supported by Pilatus under a long-term performance-based support contract” also including maintenance activities, the company says.
Aircraft deliveries will commence in mid-2014, with the new academy to begin providing crew training services in mid-2015.
Qatar flies six Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet trainers, as recorded by Flightglobal’s MiliCAS database, but needs new-generation aircraft to support its growing air force.
The service participated in Nato’s 2011 campaign to protect Libyan civilians by deploying some of its nine Dassault Mirage 2000-5EDA fighters to air policing duties, and is looking at types including the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Dassault Rafale as potential replacements.
The Gulf state has also recently expanded its air transport capabilities, with the introduction of two Boeing C-17s and four Lockheed Martin C-130Js.
Meanwhile, HE the Chief of Staff of Qatari Armed Forces Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah emphasised that the Qatar Emiri Air Forces (QEAF) will witness a major developmental shift with the inclusion of the PC-21 aircraft in the armed forces’ service which in turn will contribute enhancing the Qatari cadres’ skills according to high-standards.
Meanwhile, the Commander of the Qatar Emiri Air Force HE Brigadier-General Mubarak Mohamed al-Kameet stressed Qatar’s eagerness to have well-qualified aviators by the adoption of the trainer aircraft into the system.
He added that this step is a one-off strategic power in the Middle East region, noting that QEAF air academy already has qualified cadres who will contribute to training the armed forces’ personnel on the PC-21 aircraft.
Captain Salem Hamad al-Nabet, head of the QEAF Air Academy, said the PC-21 aircraft allows a pilot training opportunity for the national cadres and benefiting from the Swiss experience in aircraft industry.
He stressed that the academy is giving great attention to supplying the aviation system with the latest technologies that would widely contribute to boosting the aviators’ qualifications.