US says Qatar to build air force facility in Idaho
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the US has finalized a deal that will allow Qatar to establish an air force facility in Idaho.
He said that the facility where pilots from the Gulf country will be trained to fly F-15 warplanes will be established at Mountain Home Air Base in the northwest of the USA.
“This is just another example of our partnership,” Hegseth said during a meeting with his Qatari counterpart Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the Pentagon on Friday.
Hegseth also praised Qatar for playing an “important role” in President Donald Trump’s efforts to provide security. Ceasefire and hostage return agreement in Gaza.
Qatar – along with Egypt and Türkiye – served as an active mediator in months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
On Friday, Hegseth said he was “proud to sign a letter of acceptance today to build the Qatar Emirate Air Force Facility at Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho.”
“This location will host a contingent of Qatar F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training and increase lethality and interoperability – this is just another example of our partnership.
“You can trust us,” Hegseth told al-Thani.
The Pentagon chief did not say how many Qatari F-15s would be based at the Idaho facility or when they would be operational.
The order amounts to an extraordinary security pact between America and a key Arab ally and almost mirrors aspects of the NATO alliance.
The move follows Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha on September 9, killing a Qatari security official and several low-level members of the Palestinian group.
Qatar is home to Al Udeid, Washington’s largest military base in the Middle East.
The base hosts the headquarters of the US military for all air operations in the region. Previously, Iran attacked in retaliation for American attacks on its nuclear facilities.
