Alwaght- Qatar has signed a multi-billion-dollar deal to buy 24 Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes from Britain, its second major defense agreement this week, which comes amid a worsening Persian Gulf political crisis.
The $8bn deal was completed in Doha by Qatar's Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and his British counterpart, Gavin Williamson. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the two countries for this Typhoon contract in September.
The sale is touted as the largest UK export order for the Eurofighter in a decade, and will bring some relief to BAE’s aerospace workers, who were facing an end to Typhoon production in 2019 if no new order materialized.
The deal also includes an intention for Qatar to buy further military equipment from Britain, including the purchase of Hawk aircraft.
The latest purchase follows a billion-dollar deal signed by Qatar on 7 December to buy 12 French Dassault Aviation warplanes.
In mid-June also the US signed a $12bn deal to supply dozens of F-15 jets to Qatar, despite high-profile claims by President Donald Trump alleging Qatar’s “high-level funding” of terrorism.
That deal was signed days after Saudi-led regimes severed relations with Qatar and imposed a blockade against it, accusing Doha of funding "extremism". Qatar has vehemently rejected the allegations as "baseless".
On June 22, the block, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera TV, limiting ties with Iran, and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country as a prerequisite to lifting the blockade.
Qatar rejected all the demands, denouncing them as attempts to violate its sovereignty.
