The first batch of pilots trained for Qatar in November 2017 were Pakistani exchange officers.
First Rafale Handed Over to Qatar
by
Jon Lake
- February 13, 2019, 4:01 AM
VIPs from Qatar and France pose in front of the first Rafale to be handed over. The stylised Arab stallion graphic is the badge of the new Rafale squadron. (Photo: Dassault Aviation)
purchase of 24 Rafales (six of them two-seat trainers) in May 2015.
A dozen more aircraft were added to the order in December 2017. Qatar’s Rafales differ in detail from those delivered to France and Egypt, and integration of the Lockheed Martin Sniper targeting pod and Elbit Systems TARGO-II helmet-mounted target designation system required extensive testing.
Qatar's Rafales are being supplied with a range of advanced weaponry, along with the Sniper advanced targeting pod. (Photo: Dassault Aviation)
The first Rafale DQ for Qatar, a two-seater, made its first flight on June 28, 2016, while the single-seat Rafale EQ flew for the first time on March 27, 2017. The aircraft are being supplied with MBDA MICA IR, MICA EM, and Meteor air-to-air missiles and with MBDA SCALP-EG cruise missiles and a range of air-to-ground weapons, including laser- and GPS-guided Safran AASM (Armement Air-Sol Modulaire) Hammer missiles.
Qatari personnel will be trained at Base Aérienne 118 Mont-de-Marsan in southwestern France, Rochefort, and the Joint Intelligence Training Institute in Strasbourg. The first batch of pilots trained for Qatar in November 2017 were Pakistani exchange officers. Escadron de Chasse 04.030 was established at Mont-de-Marsan as the Qatar Rafale Squadron on Oct. 1, 2017. The Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, visited the Qatari Rafale Squadron at Mont-de-Marsan on July 6, 2018, accompanied by French defense minister Florence Parly.
Under the SOUTEX program the Armee de l’Air is training 250 personnel who will man the first Qatari Rafale squadron. This unit will initially be commanded by a French officer until later this year when command will be transferred to a Qatari officer before the unit transfers to Qatar in the summer of 2020.
https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2019-02-13/first-rafale-handed-over-qatar
