Qatar buys helicopters, missiles in $23 billion arms deals

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/qatar-...5--sector.html

Qatar buys helicopters, missiles in $23 billion arms deals

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Reuters
By Praveen Menon
16 hours ago


DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar announced contracts worth about $23 billion on Thursday to buy attack helicopters, guided missiles, tankers and other weapons from Boeing Co , Airbus and other arms makers as the Gulf state accelerates its military build-up.

The world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter announced deals with about 20 global companies, including firms from the United States which were awarded deals worth 27.5 billion riyals ($7.6 billion), said a spokeswoman for a Doha defense conference where the announcements were made.

The weapons purchases include large deals with Lockheed Martin , Raytheon and others.

Qatar, and other Gulf Arab and Middle Eastern countries are looking to acquire new high-tech military equipment to protect themselves from neighboring Iran and internal threats after the Arab Spring uprising.

Boeing confirmed that the announcement included a contract to buy 24 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and three Boeing 737 Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

The deal for the helicopters was valued at 8.9 billion riyals, said the spokeswoman for the conference.

In Paris, France's Defense Ministry said Qatar had agreed to buy 22 NH90 military helicopters from a unit of European aerospace group Airbus worth 2 billion euros ($2.76 billion) and two Airbus-made refueling tankers.

NHIndustries is 62.5 percent owned by Airbus' Eurocopter helicopter unit, 32 percent owned by AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy Finmeccanica's and 5.5 percent by Stork Fokker.

Qatar also committed to buy a Patriot missile defense system built by Raytheon equipped with PAC-3 missiles made by Lockheed; advanced daytime, high-definition sensors and radars for Apache helicopters; and Javelin missiles built by a Lockheed-Raytheon joint venture, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Raytheon had told analysts in January that it expected to finalize an order with Qatar in the first half of 2014 for over $2 billion in Patriot missile defense system equipment.

The Pentagon approved the sale to Qatar of $9.9 billion worth of Patriot fire units, radars, and various Raytheon and Lockheed missiles in November 2012.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the U.S. body which oversees foreign arms sales, had notified lawmakers in July 2012 of a possible sale of Apache helicopters to Qatar.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. agency had no immediate comment.

Washington has been keen to deepen its cooperation with Gulf nations, which have been long-standing allies, on missile defense and increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.

The Apache helicopters are built by Boeing and used by the U.S. Army, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

They will be fitted with Longbow radar equipment made by a joint venture of Lockheed and Northrop Grumman Corp .

A spokeswoman for the U.S. agency had no immediate comment.

Washington has been keen to deepen its cooperation with Gulf nations, which have been long-standing allies, on missile defense and increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.

Want to know why the media and our government has no objections to this arms deal?? Qatar is a muslim country !! Obama gonna help his brother muslims.. He is gonna strengthen Muslim nations. When I saw no objections I thought hmmm --must be muslim controlled , so Google checked and bammo - I was dead on the mark.--Tyr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Qatar

Islam in Qatar

From Wikipedia...

Qatar is a Muslim-majority country with Islam as the state religion. Qatar is one of the two Salafi states in the Arabian Peninsula, along with Saudi Arabia.[1]

The local population, made up of Qataris, are all Muslims although there are high numbers of foreign workers in Qatar which varies the Muslim population. In the CIA World Factbook it says 77.5% are Muslims, with 8.5% Christians and others remain.[2] Foreign workers are well noted in the country, mainly from South Asia and Americans which constitute most of the population of Qatar.

Islam conquered the entire Arabian region in the 7th century in a string of widespread conflicts resulting in the Islamization of the native Arabian pagans. With the spread of Islam in Qatar, the prophet Muhammad sent his first military envoy, Al Ala Al-Hadrami, to Al-Mundhir Ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi, the ruler of Bahrain, which extended from the coast of Kuwait to the south of Qatar, including Al-Hasa and Bahrain, in the year 628, inviting him to accept Islam as he had invited other kingdoms and empires of his time such as Byzantium and Persia. Mundhir, responding to Muhammad, announced his acceptance of Islam, and all the inhabitants of Qatar became Muslim, heralding the beginning of the Islamic era in Qatar.

[fj1200]

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Does truth always strike you that way? Or am I just especially blessed because of my magnificent charm and great insight? -Tyr

[fj1200]

^Nope, truth doesn't. Besides, you only posted one truth which wasn't really in doubt in the first place.

[gabosaurus]

We buy oil from Middle East countries that endorse Islam and terrorism. Why can't they buy arms and munitions from us? It's all about global commerce.

[NightTrain]

I don't have a problem with Qatar buying our attack helicopters, as historically they've always played ball with us when we need something - remember, it was Qatar that we parked our troops in as we were building up to invade Iraq.

And as I recall, they're not a hotbed of fanatical muzzies.

Beyond that, if they were to be shut out of buying world-class equipment from us, they would turn to the Russians - who, as Obama has recently discovered, are an active threat to peace and it is not in our best interest to allow them to be making money from supplying arms from people we already cooperate with economically and militarily.

24 helicopters are not going to make Qatar a superpower in that region but will allow them to easily deal with any adventuring armor units from radical neighbors such as Iran or terrorists driving the usual Toyota beaters.

And if worst came to worst, our F-22s & F-35s or Israel's F-15s would make short work of 24 Apaches.

[aboutime]

We buy oil from Middle East countries that endorse Islam and terrorism. Why can't they buy arms and munitions from us? It's all about global commerce.

Gabby. Why would they buy them from us when OBAMA, and even CLINTON tells them how they operate? Not to mention...keeping his buddies happy by pretending to SWAP military gear for their promises to LOVE, and PROVIDE protection for him while he GOLFS.

[fj1200]

I don't have a problem with Qatar buying our attack helicopters, as historically they've always played ball with us when we need something - remember, it was Qatar that we parked our troops in as we were building up to invade Iraq.

And HQ to CentCom IIRC. Of course some have issues when the Afghans buy Russian stuff and have issues when the Qataris buy our stuff.

[NightTrain]

And HQ to CentCom IIRC. Of course some have issues when the Afghans buy Russian stuff and have issues when the Qataris buy our stuff.

It is a good carrot to have.

Everyone knows we have the best equipment and weapons systems, and you don't get to buy those if you're not on the Good Guy List. Anyone can buy Russian stuff, but that'll suck when the guy you're fighting has superior American equipment.