TSAMTO, August 2. Boeing has completed the delivery of 36 multifunctional F-15QA (Qatar Advanced) fighters to the Qatar Air Force.
As reported by Scramble.nl On July 31, the last batch of five F-15QA "Advance Eagle" (also known as F-15QA Ababil) arrived at Mildenhall Air Base (UK) at about 20:00 local time. The planes took off for Qatar on the morning of August 2.
As previously reported by TSAMTO, in November 2016, the US State Department approved the potential supply to Qatar under the Foreign Military Sales program of up to 72 multi-purpose F-15QA fighters, as well as weapons and services related to the contract. The total cost of the order was estimated at $21.1 billion.
On June 14, 2017, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Qatar's Minister of State for Defense Khaled bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah signed a preliminary agreement of intent on the sale of F-15QA fighters for the Qatari Air Force.
In December 2017, the US Department of Defense signed the first contract with Boeing worth $6.173 billion, providing for the supply of 36 new aircraft in the F-15QA configuration to the Qatar Air Force under the Foreign Military Sales program. Boeing started assembling the first F-15QA (s.n. 17-0001) in August 2018. Its flight tests began in April 2020.
Boeing began distilling the first batch of five ordered F-15QA to Qatar on October 27, 2021. It was assumed that the F-15QA deliveries to the customer would be completed in 2023, and they would replace the fleet of aging French Mirage-2000-5.
Initially, production numbers under the FMS program for Qatar were reserved in the order from 17-0001 to 17-0036. However, during the assembly process, two aircraft were transferred to the US Air Force as F-15EX 20-0001 and 20-0002. Thus, to fulfill the Qatari order, aircraft with numbers 17-0037 and 17-0038 were added to production.
One of the aircraft (serial number FMS 17-0010) crashed on May 18, 2021 on the runway of Belleville Air Base/Scott (Illinois), because of which the pilots were forced to eject. The fighter is still under repair. In addition, two test samples remain in the United States at the moment, FMS 17-0001 (QA01) and FMS 17-0002 (QA02).
Recall that the initial contract contains options for the supply of 36 more aircraft, in the case of which, production will continue until 2026. According to the information Scramble.nl at the moment, we are talking about an option for only 12 units of the F-15QA, although it is not yet known when these additional aircraft will be produced, taking into account the increase in the order for the F-15EX from the US and Israeli Air Forces.
According to the terms of the basic agreement, by 2024, Boeing will create a training center for the training of flight and technical specialists of the 51st Ababil Squadron ("Flock of Birds") as part of the 5th Air Wing of the Qatar Air Force at Al-Udeid Air Base, and will also supply spare parts and provide logistical support services in Qatar after the delivery of the aircraft.
As previously reported, the F-15QA is distinguished by new generation technologies, including remote control, digital cockpit, upgraded sensors, radar and electronic warfare equipment, and a high-performance on-board computer.
Demonstrated by Boeing on August 25, 2021, together with the command of the US Air Force and Qatar at the St. Louis facility, the first F-15QA (QA500) fighter was equipped with a range of weapons, including the AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile, the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, AGM-84A Harpoon missile launcher, GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) high-precision aerial bomb. The aircraft was also equipped with AN AN/AAQ-28(V) "Lightening" container targeting system and an AN/AAQ-33 "Sniper" suspended targeting container, an AN/AAS-42 Tiger Eyes integrated infrared detection and tracking system (IRST).
