Qatari long-range radar procurement moves forward
Jeremy Binnie, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
13 December 2016
Qatar and the United States have reached an agreement on the former's acquisition of a long-range early warning radar, Defence Secretary Ashton Carton announced in Bahrain on 10 December.
The AN/FPS-132 long-range early warning radar at RAF Flyingdales in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. (Raytheon)
"Just this week, we reached an agreement for Qatar to purchase a 5,000 km [range] early warning radar to enhance its missile defences," Carter said when listing examples of US military co-operation with various Middle East states.
Carter said the plan is for Qatar's radar to be integrated into a regional air defence network that would mitigate the threat from Iranian ballistic missiles.
"The progress we've made in improving ballistic missile defence is also important as Iran continues to test and field such missiles in defiance of the UN Security Council," he said. "That's why we are working together to develop a blueprint for a regional ballistic missile defence architecture that would help integrate capabilities across the region, from the Patriot batteries deployed in several countries, to the Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense [THAAD] system in the [United Arab Emirates] UAE, to Qatar's future early warning radar, and to more systems yet to come."
It was announced in July 2013 that Qatar had requested a Raytheon AN/FPS-132 Block 5 long-range early warning radar at an estimated cost of USD1.1 billion.
Raytheon was awarded a USD2.4 billion contract in December 2014 to build Qatar an Air and Missile Defence Operations Centre (ADOC) that it said will "integrate US air defence systems - including Patriot, the Early Warning Radar, and THAAD - with European air defence systems and radars, and Qatar's Air Operation Centre".
The US Department of Defense announced in December 2014 that it had awarded a USD2.4 billion contract to deliver 10 Patriot fire units to Qatar, with an expected completion date by 30 April 2019.
Lockheed Martin had been awarded contracts to produce PAC-3 missiles for Qatar's Patriot systems, but has not as yet received a contract for the THAAD systems that Doha is expected to order.
http://www.janes.com/article/66185/qatari-long-range-radar-procurement-moves-forward