Rafales reach Qatar

摘要

The first five Rafale fighters for the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) have touched down in country. The Emir of Qatar and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, was at Tamim Air Base near Dukhan on June 5 to welcome the first jets' arrival. They completed a non-stop ferry flight from BA125 Istres/Le Tube, southern France, escorted by the Armee de I'Air's (French Air Force's) first A330 Phenix tanker, serial 041/F-UJCG. A French Air Force KC-135 provided further refuelling support over the Mediterranean. A total of seven aircraft were prepared at BA125 for the ferry flight. Five of these were single-seat Rafale EQ variants, comprising QA211, QA216, QA217, QA218 and QA220. The other two were twin-seat Rafale DQ models QA203 and QA204. Of these jets, four single-seaters and one dual-seater made the trip to Qatar: QA211, QA216, QA218, QA220 and QA204.