Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that the US will allow Qatar to build an Air Force facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, which will host Qatari F-15 fighter jets and pilots who will train alongside US troops.
“The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, interoperability,” Hegseth said during a meeting with his Qatari counterpart Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the Pentagon. “It’s just another example of our partnership. And I hope you know, Your Excellency, that you can count on us.”
The announcement of the deal comes just weeks after Trump signed an executive order for the US to guarantee the security of Qatar — a significant commitment to a non-NATO, Arab ally. Israel had bombed Qatar several days earlier as part of an operation against Hamas officials living in Doha. But sources told CNN that the plan to build the Qatari facility has been in the works for several years, dating back to the previous administration.
A US official said the agreement with Qatar is routine and something the Air Force has done for decades with other partner nations including Germany and Singapore.
Hegseth later on Friday wrote in a post on X, “The U.S. military has a long-standing partnership w/ Qatar, including today’s announced cooperation w/ F-15QA aircraft,” emphasizing there will be no Qatari owned base in the US.
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