Pentagon will build a training facility for Qatari pilots in US state of Idaho
The US military is moving forward with plans to build a dedicated facility in Idaho to train pilots from Qatar, an important US ally in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday.
Hegseth, who made the announcement during a visit by Qatar’s defense minister, said the facility to be built at the Mountain Home Air Force Base would “host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, interoperability.”
The arrangement is not unusual. Pentagon officials noted that similar facilities have been set up for other allies for decades, and the Idaho base already hosts a fighter squadron from Singapore.
Qatar would pay for the construction of the new facility, a defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide information not publicly released. When asked for more details, Hegseth’s office said it had nothing to offer beyond the secretary’s remarks.
The announcement comes just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order vowing to use all measures, including US military action, to defend Qatar, which hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East.
The small, gas-rich country played a key role in negotiating the most recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza, as well as in several other key negotiations. Doha, the capital of Qatar, came under surprise attack from Israel last month as members of Hamas were in the city last month to discuss a ceasefire.
Qatar also lavished a $400 million jumbo jet on Trump for use as Air Force One.
However, the Qataris’ connection with US military aviation predates these more recent developments.
In 2020, the US Air Force announced it has signed a deal with Qatar for the sale of more than 35 F-15 fighter jets.
An Air Force environmental study, completed two years later, revealed that Mountain Home Air Force Base was proposing building a facility that would house 12 Qatari F-15 jets and about 300 additional Qatari and US Air Force personnel.
