Boeing unveils F-15 Qatar Advanced

26th August 2021 - 15:15 GMT | by The Shephard News Team in London

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The rollout ceremony for Qatar’s F-15 jets was held in St. Louis, US. (Photo: Boeing.)

Boeing was awarded a $6.1 billion contract to manufacture 36 F-15QA fighter aircraft in December 2017.

In collaboration with the USAF and Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF), Boeing has officially rolled out Qatar's new advanced F-15, known as the F-15QA.

The first F-15QA's will ferry to Qatar later this year after the completion of pre-delivery pilot training.

Boeing will also establish an in-country aircrew and maintenance training centre at the QEAF's Al Udeid Air Base through 2024.

Boeing F-15 programme vice president Prat Kumar said: 'The Qatar F-15QA programme further enhanced next-generation technologies in the advanced F-15 such as the fly-by-wire flight controls, an all-glass digital cockpit and contemporary sensors, radar and electronic warfare capabilities,'

Kumar added that the F-15QA represented a 'transformational leap' for the F-15, enhancing the QEAF with more 'speed, range and payload than any fighter in the world'.

USAF Ninth Air Force commander LT GEN Greg Guillot said: 'The rollout of the F-15QA is momentous, not just in terms of capability but also in terms of the enhanced partnership it represents.'

Guillot said he was grateful for Qatar's focus on 'interoperability and combat readiness' and that the US relationship with Qatar was 'critical' to the area's stability.