DOHA (Agencies): On August 27, the Qatari Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced the establishment of a joint squadron with the Turkish Air Force (THK).
General Ziya Cemal Kad?o?lu, the THK commander, visited the joint squadron at Dukhan Air Base to review its training progress and the latest facilities. The MoD’s announcement included a photograph of a two-seat Turkish F-16D from the 191 ‘Kaplan’ Squadron, parked between a Qatari Mirage 2000 and a Rafale, outside a large hangar identified as being on the northeast side of the runway at Dukhan Air Base.
Later, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense (MSB) reported that Gen Kad?o?lu visited Türkiye’s newly deployed permanent air component in Qatar. He was seen planting trees on the north side of the same hangar and flying in the backseat of another Turkish F-16D from the 132 ‘Hançer’ Squadron. At least one single-seat F-16C was also present, though its squadron affiliation was unclear.
The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) already operates a joint squadron with the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF). Initially based in the UK to 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 returning to RAF Coningsby in early 2023.
While the QEAF and THK operate mostly different aircraft types, they share some common models, including C-130 transports and Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are based at Dukhan.