Al Udeid Air Base
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2009) |
Al-Udeid Air Base | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
قاعدة العديد الجوية | |||||||||
| NearDoha,Al RayyaninQatar | |||||||||
 AQatar Emiri Air ForceAW139and aUS Air ForceB-1B Lanceron the flight-line at Al Udeid Air Base during 2016. | |||||||||
 Emblem of theQatar Emiri Air Force | |||||||||
  Al-Udeid AB Location in Qatar | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 25°07′07″N051°19′07″E/ 25.11861°N 51.31861°E | ||||||||
| Type | Qatar Emiri Air Forcebase | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Qatar Armed Forces | ||||||||
| Operator | Qatar Emiri Air Force United States Air Force Royal Air Force | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1996 | ||||||||
| In use | 1996 – present | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison |
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| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA:XJD,ICAO:OTBH | ||||||||
| Elevation | 40 metres (131 ft)AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Source:World Aero Data[1][2]and Google Maps[3] | |||||||||
Al Udeid Air Base(Arabic:قاعدة العديد الجوية) is one of two military bases southwest ofDoha,Qatar,also known asAbu Nakhlah Airport(مطار أبو نخلة).
It houses theQatar Emiri Air Force,United States Air Force,Royal Air Force,and other foreign forces. It is host to a forward headquarters ofUnited States Central Command,headquarters of theUnited States Air Forces Central Command,No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group RAF,and the379th Air Expeditionary Wingof theUSAF.
In 1999, the thenEmir of Qatar,Sheikh Hamad,[4]told U.S. officials that he would like to see as many as 10,000 U.S. servicemen permanently stationed at Al Udeid.[citation needed]According to media reports in June 2017, the base hosted over 11,000 U.S. and U.S.-ledanti-ISIL coalitionforces and over 100 operational aircraft.[5]
It is the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East.[6]
History
[edit]United States Air Force
[edit]Following joint military operations duringOperation Desert Stormin 1991, Qatar and the United States concluded a Defense Cooperation Agreement that has been subsequently expanded. In 1996, Qatar built Al Udeid Air Base at the cost of more than $1 billion. The U.S. first used the then-secret base in late September 2001, when the Air Force needed to get aircraft in position for its operations in Afghanistan. The U.S. has nearly 40,000 military personnel in the Middle East. The U.S. Fifth Fleet is in Bahrain and has 28,000 military personnel in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Kingdoms, including Qatar, cover 60 percent of the costs, around $650 million.[7]
The official acknowledgement of the base came in March 2002, when Vice PresidentDick Cheneystopped there during a trip to the region with a group of reporters. In April 2003, shortly after the start of theU.S.-led invasion of Iraq,the U.S. Combat Air Operations Center for the Middle East moved fromPrince Sultan Air BaseinSaudi Arabiato what was then a backup headquarters built a year prior in Qatar that was viewed as a more congenial location for basing U.S. troops.[8]
Al Udeid and other facilities in Qatar serve aslogistics,command,and basing hubs for the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations, and oversees U.S. air operations in countries, including Iraq,Afghanistan,andSyria.[9]
Royal Air Force
[edit]Between 2004 and 2009 the airbase was used by theRoyal Air Forcewith transport and fast-jet aircraft to supportOperation Telic(Iraq War) andOperation Herrick(War in Afghanistan).
These included 6 to 8Tornado GR4aircraft drawn from different parts of the Royal Air Force as well as multipleVickers VC10from theNo. 101 Squadron RAF.British Tornados were equipped with a range of stores, including the Vicon Recce Pod,LITENING targeting pod,1000 lb HE bombs,Paveway IIandPaveway IIIlaser-guided bombs, and theRAPTOR Recce Pod.They were chosen for their currency and up-to-date modification state.[10]
The RAF aircraft were accompanied by nearly 400 personnel, of which approximately 130 were aircraft engineers while the remaining 270 were active in support and operation management roles.Squadronpersonnel were on a two-month rotation at RAF Al Udeid with the remainder of the force on a four-month rotation. Support personnel were on varying rotations but not as often generally as the squadron personnel. The RAF operated from what was known as the "Southern QRA" buildings. Aircraft were housed in canvas shelters to protect them and the personnel working on them from the heat of the sun. RAF Al Udeid was used as astaging postfor personnel en route to Iraq (in particular,Basrah) with personnel transferring from passenger aircraft, such as the RAF-operatedTristarandVC10,to the tactical transportLockheed C-130 Hercules.The Hercules transit was in the region of two hours and mostly in tacticalblack-outconditions.
Royal Australian Air Force
[edit]As part ofAustralia's contributionto coalition forces in the2003 invasion of Iraq,fourteenF/A-18 HornetfightersfromNo. 75 Squadron RAAFwere based at Al Udeid, along with twoP-3 Orionmaritime patrol aircraftand threeC-130 Herculesmilitary transport aircraft.During the early phases of the war, the Hornets flew long missions escorting and protecting coalitionAWACSEarly warning aircraftandtanker aircraftused forair-to-air refueling.Later, when the threat to aircraft was reduced, the Hornets switched to the ground attack and combat support roles and were used toattackIraqiground forceswithlaser-guided bombs.The Orions flew long endurance missions over thePersian Gulftracking vessels, curbing smuggling and guarding against the threat posed by suicide boats. The deployed Hercules flew supplies and equipment into Iraq, and later flew some of the firsthumanitarian aidinto Baghdad. The fourteenRoyal Australian Air ForceHornets flew over 670sortiesduring the war, including 350 combat sorties over Iraq.
Following Australia's formal withdraw of forces from Iraq and to upon Afghanistan in 2008, the air bridge for operations in the Middle East was re-located toAl Minhad Air Basein the United Arab Emirates.
Current use
[edit]
Qatari Emiri Air Force
[edit]Al Udeid Air Base is the main headquarters for theQatar Emiri Air Force,although some of its squadrons are based atDoha International Airportamong others.[11]
Structure:[12]
- Al Zaeem Mohamed Bin Abdullah Al Attiyah Air College
- 6th Squadron with theAirbus Helicopters H125and theAgustaWestland AW169
- 31 Squadron with thePAC MFI-395 Super Mushshakand thePilatus PC-21
- ?? Squadron with thePilatus PC-24
- Airlift Group
- 10th Transport Squadron with theBoeing C-17A Globemaster III
- 12th Transport Squadron with theLockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules
- Flying Wing 3
- 20th Squadron with theAgustaWestland AW139
- 41 Squadron with theBoeing AH-64E Apache(QRA)
- International Flight Training School (IFTS)
- ?? Squadron with theAlenia Aermacchi M-346 Master
- Flying Wing 5
- 51 Squadron with theBoeing F-15QA Strike Eagle
- 52 Squadron with the F-15QA
- 53 Squadron with the F-15QA
Royal Air Force
[edit]After the withdrawal of British Tornados and VC10s in Summer 2009 to other locations, Royal Air Force activities at Al Udeid were reduced.[10]
Since 2014 it has been used as HQ for British involvement in airstrikes againstISISin Iraq (Operation Shader).[13]
The Royal Air Force formally stationed anRC-135 Rivet Jointsignals intelligence aircraft at the base to operate over Iraq and Syria, although this aircraft has been pictured operating fromChania International AirportinCrete.[14]
United States Air Force
[edit]
Military cooperation and foreign assistance
[edit]With its small territory and narrow population base, Qatar relies to a large degree on external cooperation and support for its security. Qatar invested overUS$1 billion to construct the Al Udeid airfield during the 1990s; it did not have a largeair forceof its own at the time. TheUnited States Army Corps of Engineersalso awarded over $100 million in Military Construction Air Force (MCAF) contracts for the construction of U.S. storage, housing, service, command, and communication facilities. Qatar's financing and construction of some of the state-of-the-art air force base at Al Udeid and its granting of permission for the construction of U.S.-funded facilities helped deepen cooperation with theUnited States Department of Defense.
The Al Udeid Air Base now serves as a logistics, command, and basing hub for U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. NearbyCamp As Sayliyahhouses significant U.S. military equipment pre-positioning and command and control facilities for the CENTCOM's area of operations. Both Qatar and the United States have invested in the construction and expansion of these facilities since the mid-1990s, and they form the main hub of the CENTCOM air and ground logistical network in thearea of responsibility.As a result of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. and partner nation facilities in Qatar and elsewhere have received higher use in recent years.
In early June 2017, the Pentagon said that the diplomaticrupture and tensionsbetween Qatar and some of its Arab neighbors would not affect U.S. operations at the Air Base.[15]
The air base played an important role during the2018 missile strikes against Syria,in which two USAFRockwell B-1B Lancerbombers from the34th Bomb Squadronflew from the base.
The base stationedF-22 Raptorsfor the first time in June 2019.[16]A month later, an expansion of the base was announced to be funded by Qatar,[17]which would cost $1.8 billion.[18]
Units
[edit]- United States Marine Corps(USMC)Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare 3 (VMAQ-3) 'Moondogs'from 17 February 2014, withNorthrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers[19]until 9 August 2014.[20]
Congress appropriations and authorizations
[edit]From FY2003 to FY2007, Congressauthorizedandappropriated$126 million for U.S. military construction activities in Qatar.
TheNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008(P.L. 110-181) authorized $81.7 million in FY2008 spending to build new Air Force andSpecial Operationsfacilities in Qatar.
TheNational Defense Authorization Actfor Fiscal Year 2009 (P.L. 110-417) authorized $69.6 million in FY2009 spending to build new Air Force and Special Operations facilities.
TheNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010(P.L. 111-84) authorized $117 million in FY2010 spending to build new Air Force recreational, dormitory, and other facilities at Al Udeid.
The Administration's FY2011 military construction request for Qatar was $64.3 million, for Air Force facilities and aNational Security Agencywarehouse.
The FY2012 request included $37 million to continue the dormitory and recreation facility project.
References
[edit]- ^Airport information for OTBH[usurped]fromDAFIF(effective October 2006)
- ^Airport information for IUDat Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ^"Google Maps – Al Udeid Air Base".Google Maps.Retrieved4 January2019.
- ^"Embassy of Qatar – H.H. The Emir".Archived fromthe originalon 29 January 2012.Retrieved2 March2012.
- ^US 'mystified' over Gulf states' position towards Qatar
- ^"U.S. Bases in the Middle East".
- ^Zeynalov, Mahir (25 December 2017)."Defending Allies: Here is how much US Gains from Policing World".The Globe Post.Retrieved10 May2018.
- ^Aftereffects Bases; U.S. Will Move Air Operations To Qatar BaseNYT, 28 April 2003.
- ^Inside the Air War Over Syria: A High Altitude ‘Poker Game’NYT, 23 May 2017.
- ^ab"19 Years Over Iraq".The Official RAF Annual Review 2010.Stamford:Key Publishing:12. December 2010.
- ^Anthony H. Cordesman; Khalid R. Al-Rodhan (2006).Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars.Praeger. p. 150.ISBN978-0275992507.
- ^"Qatar Emiri Air Force - Al Udaid (OTBH) Al-Udeid AB".Scramble.nl.Retrieved23 November2023.
- ^"UK and Qatar sign pact to combat jihadis and cyber warfare".ft.com. 2 November 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015.Retrieved13 December2014.
It is also headquarters to the UK's campaign against Isis, Operation Shader.
{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^"RAF prepares jets to strike Isis targets in Iraq".The Guardian.23 September 2014.Retrieved13 December2014.
An RAF Rivet Joint surveillance plane equipped with listening devices has also been flying missions from al-Udeid air base in Qatar to eavesdrop on Isis communications.
- ^Pentagon continues operations at key Mideast air base despite Qatar’s rift with Arab neighborsThe Washington Post, 5 June 2017.
- ^"F-22s Deploy to Qatar for the First Time Amid Iran Tensions".Military.com.28 June 2019.
- ^"Remarks by President Trump at a Dinner Hosted by the Secretary of the Treasury in Honor of the Amir of the State of Qatar".whitehouse.gov.8 July 2019 – viaNational Archives.
- ^"As Trump tries to end 'endless wars,' America's biggest Mideast base is getting bigger".The Washington Post.21 August 2019.
- ^AirForces Monthly.Stamford,Lincolnshire,England:Key Publishing Ltd.April 2014. p. 17.
- ^AirForces Monthly.Stamford,Lincolnshire,England:Key Publishing Ltd.October 2013. p. 33.
External links
[edit]
Media related toAl Udeid Air Baseat Wikimedia Commons
- "Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations"(PDF).Congressional Research Service.
- "National Defense Authorization Act of 2009"(PDF).U.S. Federal Government.
- "Public Law 110-417. 110th Congress"(PDF).U.S. Federal Government.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 March 2017.Retrieved27 December2011.
- "CNN Special Report: Al Udeid Air Base".CNN.
- "Usage of Al Udeid Air Base".GlobalSecurity.org.
- "RAAF over Iraq".Australian War Memorial.