Qatar, UK sign fighter jet deal

By Serdar Bitmez, Afra Aksoy and Gulsen Topcu

DOHA (AA) - Qatar on Sunday signed an agreement with the United Kingdom to purchase 24 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, according to Qatar's Defense Ministry.

They explained in a statement that the Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah and his British counterpart Gavin Williamson met in the capital Doha.

The statement said the two countries also signed an agreement to discuss the establishment of a "joint operation fleet".

The joint operational fleet would be ‘a first in the region’, adding that this will be the core of the cooperation between the two countries' armed forces in the future.

The new fleet would cover all air operations to ensure readiness for combat at any time including pilots and technicians from both countries, the statement added.

The statement also noted that the fleet will play an important role in ensuring air safety in the 2022 World Cup organization.

The value of the deal and the date of delivery of the warplanes, was not included in the statement, however, a report from Britain said the deal was worth $8 billion.

On Thursday, Qatar signed an agreement with France worth $6.6 billion to buy 12 Rafale model warplanes and 50 Airbus-type planes.