US says Qatar to build air force facility in Idaho
The United States has finalized a deal that will allow Qatar to build an air base in Idaho, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced.
He said the facility, where pilots from the Gulf state would be trained to fly F-15 fighter jets, would be established at Mountain Home Air Force Base in the northwestern US state.
“This is just another example of our partnership,” Hegseth said during a meeting with his Qatari counterpart, Saud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, at the Pentagon on Friday.
Hegseth also praised Qatar for playing a “substantial role” in President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement on the return of hostages.
Qatar – alongside Egypt and Turkey – played an active mediator role during months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
On Friday, Hegseth said he was “proud that today we are signing a letter of acceptance for the construction of a Qatari UAE Air Force facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.”
“The site will host a contingent of F-15s and Qatari pilots to enhance our combined training, increase lethality and interoperability. This is just another example of our partnership.
“You can count on 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 become operational.
Last month, President Trump signed an executive order pledging to use all measures – including the US military – to defend Qatar.
This order amounts to an extraordinary security pact between America and a key Arab ally, almost mirroring aspects of a NATO alliance.
The move comes after Israeli airstrikes targeted Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital Doha on September 9, killing several lower-level members of the Palestinian group, as well as a Qatari security official.
Qatar is home to Washington’s largest military base in the Middle East: Al-Udeid.
The base, which houses the US military’s headquarters for all air operations in the region, was attacked earlier by Iran in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear sites.
