Airforces

62 // FEBRUARY 2018 #359 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

May. Saudi Arabia and its allies Egypt, Bahrain

and the UAE broke their diplomatic ties with

Qatar. In their view, Qatar is pro-Iran – they

also accused it of providing financial support to

terrorists. A blockade is still in force today and

includes a refusal to permit overflight rights.

However, it would have been a mistake to

expect the situation would affect the festive

mood in Doha. The opposite seemed to be

the case. Beginning on December 10, the

QEAF trained almost daily over the bay of

Doha between 1500hrs and 1615hrs. This

required an additional notice to airmen

(NOTAM) for the nearby Hamad International

Airport, which essentially left only one runway

available for restricted commercial operations,

and there were warnings of delays to civil

flights during the parade preparations.

The training sessions were interesting for two

reasons. First was the timing – in previous

years, the training (and indeed the parade)

had taken place at 0800hrs. Secondly,

two complete programmes were practised

one after the other. At 1500hrs, all the

QEAF participants got into their formation

positions around the bay and at 1530hrs

started rehearsing the exact timing.

The routine – which often featured detail

changes – began with an overflight by a three-

ship Mirage 2000-5 formation, followed by a

trio of Alpha Jets trailing smoke in the national

colours. During the training flights, another two

solo Mirages followed as formation holders.

Arriving soon after was the helicopter

formation, consisting of three AW139s and

five Gazelles, and, almost parallel, a four-

ship of newly received Super Mushshaks.

Almost immediately the five C-17A and C-130J

transports made a near-simultaneous turn at

an angle of 90° over the water and roared over

the grandstands at a slightly higher altitude.

Next up was a formation of 11 PC-21s. From

this, six machines broke away to perform

Qatari air power

The Mirage 2000-5 is currently the most

modern combat jet in the QEAF inventory. The

contract signed in 1994 included nine Mirage

2000-5EDA fighters and three twin-seat Mirage

2000-5DDAs. Of note are the three mission

marks below the cockpit of single-seat QA97.

On December 14, UK Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin revealed that

No 12 (Bomber) Squadron will re-form with Typhoons and temporarily

integrate QEAF personnel, including pilots and groundcrew, at RAF

Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

Four PAC Super Mushshaks in flight

over Doha. A contract was signed in

June 2016 for an unspecified number of

these aircraft for basic training at the

Air Force Academy. The first four were

delivered in July 2017.