*Al Udeid Air Base will be expanded and Doha Air Base will be developed to welcome new aircraft and systems
Deputy Commander of the Amiri Air Force Major-General (Pilot) Ahmed Ibrahim al-Malki has announced the establishment of a new air base named "Tamim Air Base".
In an interview published on Monday in the Altalaya magazine of the Directorate of Defence Communications at the Ministry of Defence, Maj Gen al-Malki said Al Udeid Air Base will be expanded and the Doha Air Base will be developed to welcome new aircraft and systems that have been introduced to the air force.
"These include the French Rafale fighters, American F-15 fighters, Eurofighter Typhoon and other advanced aircraft. In addition, command and control systems will be developed by introducing the latest radar systems and communications," Maj Gen al-Malki said.
He said during the rule of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, there has been a qualitative leap in the development of the air force, where equipment have been doubled and new systems have been brought into service including warplanes, transport aircraft and helicopters.
He also touched on the reorganisation of the Amiri Air Force after introducing modern aircraft systems, highlighting that it is currently under review and will be revealed soon. He said the most important role of the air force is the protection of the air space, deterrence and ground attack.
Maj Gen al-Malki added that the greatest challenge before the airforce is continuous development as modern technology in the field is always updated and the mission of the Amiri Air Force is to assimilate modern systems, which requires modernising human resources.
He said there are organisational projects of strategic nature which will be seen at the Amiri Air Force. He added that in 2018 the force has welcomed the first female batch as pilot candidates.
The Qatari air force has seen significant development after 2014, and Doha has concluded several major deals over the past months.
In December 2017, Qatar signed an agreement with the UK to buy 24 Eurofighter Typhoon jets after two successive agreements with the US to buy 36 F-15QA fighters and with France to buy 12 Rafale fighters.
