Turkey Moved More Troops Into Qatar

The slow build-up of Turkish soldiers in Qatar has continued, despite their withdrawal being one of the demands that Saudi Arabia and its allies have insisted Doha complies with before they lift their blockade of the emirate.

The Qatari ministry of defence (MoD) announced on 11 July that a fifth instalment of Turkish soldiers had arrived in Doha to join their comrades at the Tariq bin Zayid Battalion base, under the provisions of the military co-operation agreement signed by the two countries. The ministry released photographs showing Turkish troops disembarking from a Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) C-130J-30 transport aircraft.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) did not confirm the statement, but Turkish newspapers reported on the following day that that a 45-strong commando unit affiliated to the Istanbul-based 1st Army Command had arrived in Doha. The Dogan News Agency (DHA) reported that another contingent of about 25 soldiers from an artillery unit would arrive in Qatar between 16 and 19 July with T-155 Fırtına self-propelled howitzers.

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US Government to Expected Announce Approval of Fighter Sales to Qatar & Kuwait

The U.S. government is poised to approve two long-delayed sales of Boeing Co fighter jets to Qatar and Kuwait, and could announce the multibillion-dollar deals during President Barack Obama's visit to the Gulf this week, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Both deals have been stalled amid concerns raised by Israel that equipment sent to Gulf states could fall into the wrong hands and be used against it, and by the Obama administration's broader decision-making on military aid to the Gulf.

However, the Pentagon and the State Department both have signed off on the sale of some 36 F-15 fighter jets to Qatar and 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to Kuwait, both built by Boeing. The White House is expected to follow suit shortly.

The sale to Kuwait is worth about $3 billion and the one to Qatar is probably close to $4 billion, sources familiar with the matter said.

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Saudi Arabia Forms 34 Nation Coalition to Fight Terrorism.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced the formation of a 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, according to a joint statement published on state news agency SPA.

"The countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations center based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations," the statement said.

A long list of Arab countries such as Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, together with Islamic countries Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab and African states were mentioned.

The announcement cited "a duty to protect the Islamic nation from the evils of all terrorist groups and organizations whatever their sect and name which wreak death and corruption on earth and aim to terrorize the innocent."

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Could this become a military alliance?

Dassault on a Roll: Qatar Buys 24 Rafale

Qatar has ended its long-running search for new strike aircraft with the decision to acquire 24 Dassault Rafales for the requirement.

The Gulf state has long been a customer of the French airframer, having previously operated the Mirage F1, Alpha Jet and Mirage 2000.

Flightglobal’s MiliCAS database records Doha as possessing an active inventory of 13 Mirage 2000s and six Alpha Jets.

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36 Indian, 36 Egyptian and now 24 from Qatar.  96 fighters.  Not a bad set of orders.

Report: Qatar to Buy *72* Rafale Fighters

Dassault Aviation SA (AM) is poised to win a contract from Qatar for 72 Rafale jets, a French government official said, indicating the jet may have its first export contract before India signs a commitment for 126 units.

A contract would probably come in two batches of 36 aircraft, the official said. The topic will be discussed when Qatar ruler Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani visits France next week, as negotiations continue. The Qatari Ministry of Defense and Dassault Aviation had no comment.

Sales abroad are critical to European and U.S. defense contractors as they look overseas to offset declining domestic spending and keep production alive. France’s only maker of fighter planes has so far failed to clinch any export order for the Rafale, even as its prior fighter saw three quarters of sales from export orders. India is in exclusive talks with Dassault, though it has yet to seal a deal.

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They currently operate 12 Mirage 2000 fighters.

Qatar Goes Defense Shopping With $23 Billion Purse

Qatar has become the new darling of the defense contractors after announcing plans to spend 87 billion riyals ($23 billion) on new equipment for its armed forces.

The deal is the largest to emerge from the gas-rich Persian Gulf state yet, and the spending is likely to continue.

The plans—revealed on the last day of the Dimdex defense show in Doha on March 27, much to the surprise of industry officials in attendance—read like the fulfillment of a wish list of new capabilities long-sought by Qatari commanders and the country's leaders. Airborne early warning radar aircraft, aerial refueling tankers, battlefield helicopters and surface-to-air missile systems are all in play. The largest of the deals are being awarded to Qatar's two biggest allies—the U.S. and France.

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Thales to Develop Optionally Piloted Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Aircraft

Thales has today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Qatar Armed Forces to assist in the development of an Optionally Piloted Vehicle – Aircraft (OPV-A), a high performance Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) system, and the delivery of a full end-to-end training solution.

The OPV-A airframe, to be selected by the Qatar Armed Forces, will be integrated with a mission systems capability to enable the optionally piloted capability.

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Another Mess in the Middle East

Saudi and Emirati pundits have quit major media outlets in Qatar, including the broadcaster of top-flight European football, they said on Sunday, as tensions soar between Doha and Gulf states.

In an unprecedented decision on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their envoys to Qatar, which they accused of meddling in their internal affairs by supporting Islamists.

Doha has dismissed the charge, citing instead differences in regional politics.

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Sahara Forest Project's Qatar Pilot Project Appears to be Successful

A project to “green” desert areas with an innovative mix of technologies—producing food, biofuel, clean water, energy, and salt—reached a milestone this week in the Gulf state of Qatar. A pilot plant built by the Sahara Forest Project (SFP) produced 75 kilograms of vegetables per square meter in three crops annually, comparable to commercial farms in Europe, while consuming only sunlight and seawater. The heart of the SFP concept is a specially designed greenhouse. At one end, salt water is trickled over a gridlike curtain so that the prevailing wind blows the resulting cool, moist air over the plants inside. This cooling effect allowed the Qatar facility to grow three crops per year, even in the scorching summer. At the other end of the greenhouse is a network of pipes with cold seawater running through them. Some of the moisture in the air condenses on the pipes and is collected, providing a source of fresh water.

One of the surprising side effects of such a seawater greenhouse, seen during early experiments, is that cool moist air leaking out of it encourages other plants to grow spontaneously outside. The Qatar plant took advantage of that effect to grow crops around the greenhouse, including barley and salad rocket (arugula), as well as useful desert plants. The pilot plant accentuated this exterior cooling with more “evaporative hedges” that reduced air temperatures by up to 10°C. “It was surprising how little encouragement the external crops needed,” says SFP chief Joakim Hauge.

The third key element of the SFP facility is a concentrated solar power plant. This uses mirrors in the shape of a parabolic trough to heat a fluid flowing through a pipe at its focus. The heated fluid then boils water, and the steam drives a turbine to generate power. Hence, the plant has electricity to run its control systems and pumps and can use any excess to desalinate water for irrigating the plants.

The Qatar plant has also experimented with other possibilities such as culturing heat-tolerant algae, growing salt-tolerant grasses for fodder or biofuel, and evaporating the concentrated saline the plant emits to produce salt.

The Qatar plant—which is supported by Qatari fertilizer companies Yara International and Qafco—is just 1 hectare in extent with 600 square meters of growing area in the greenhouse. The fact that this small greenhouse produced such good yields, Hauge says, suggests that a commercial plant—with possibly four crops a year—could do even better. SFP researchers estimate that a facility with 60 hectares of growing area under greenhouses could provide all the cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and egglants now imported into Qatar. The results “reveal the potential for enabling restorative growth and value creation in arid land,” Hauge says. "I personally think that it is very important that people promote and invest in these ideas. Protected agriculture (I call it "indoor food production") is an important option for the desert areas, particularly in the Middle East," says Richard Tutwiler, director of the Desert Development Center at the American University in Cairo. "The big question is economic feasibility. How much did it cost to produce 75 kg of cucumbers per square meter?"

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