Boeing Concludes F-15QA Deliveries To Qatar
In recent days Boeing confirmed the arrival of the remaining five F-15QA ordered by the Emirates of Qatar. Back in 2017, the Qatari government signed an official agreement on the delivery of thirty-six aircraft in total. The $12 billion deal was subsequently realized with the first deliveries taking place from 2021.
The maiden flight of the F-15QA took place back in April 2020, at the Boeing facility in St. Louis. According to Boeing officials, the F-15 Eagle designed for Qatar was the most advanced version of the aircraft at the time. It also served as a base for the development of the newest F-15EX Eagle II which is set to replace some of the US Air Force’s earlier variants and generations of the legendary aircraft.
The F-15QA is the most advanced export version of the Boeing fighter jet. It is based on the earlier Saudi variant of the F-15. In comparison to the Saudi aircraft, the F-15QA received two additional hardpoints (11 in total), AN/APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned array radar (AESA), and JHMCS helmet display for the weapons operator and the pilot. The jet can carry a large array of weapons ranging from AIM-9X and AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, a variety of Joint Direct Attack Munition GPS guided bombs, as well as an AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile and an AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.
Due to its precarious geopolitical position Qatar has acquainted massive amounts of modern equipment including vehicles and most importantly aircraft. This was caused by a diplomatic incident in 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatar-registered planes and ships from utilizing their airspace, land, and sea routes on the grounds of allegations that Qatar supports terrorist organisations. Despite a thawing of relations in recent years, the Qatari Emiri Air Force (QEAF) has obtained 36 Rafale, 24 Eurofighter Typhoon, and 36 of the aforementioned F-15QA.