Raytheon to Upgrade Qatari Air Force's Operation Center

The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Qatar of equipment and support to upgrade the Qatari Emiri Air Force’s (QEAF) Air Operation Center (AOC) for an estimated cost of $197 million.

The purchase is meant to enhance the performance of integrated air defense planning and provide US-Qatari systems interoperability. The prime contractor will be Raytheon, Waltham, MA.

This sale includes: one (1) Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) Low Volume Terminal (LVT), Global Positioning System (GPS) Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) chips, Simple Key Loaders (SKL), High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptors (HAIPE), Ground Support System (GSS) components for Link-16, cybersecurity services, technical and support facilities, COMSEC support, secure communications equipment, encryption devices, software development, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment.

The upgrade of the AOC will support the defensive capability of Qatar.  The proposed sale will help strengthen Qatar’s capability to counter current and future threats in the region and reduce dependence on U.S. forces.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on March 7, 2018.

Qatar typically requests offsets.  Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between Qatar and the contractor.