Dubai, United Arab Emirates – The United States has granted an initial approval for the Middle East Nation rich in energy from Qatar To buy eight MQ-9B predators armed for their military, an estimated purchase for a value of almost $ 2 billion.
The approval of the State Department announced early for Qatar occurs after Doha had been trying to buy the drones during the Biden administration, but had not achieved the OK despite serving as a interlocutor for Washington to The Taliban in Afghanistan, Iran theocracy and Hamas in Gaza’s strip. The immediate approval under President Donald Trump serves as a very different starting point for the relations of his government with Qatar, particularly after Initially it supported a boycott of four nations from Doha During his first term.
“This proposed sale will support foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that remains an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” said the United States Defense Security Cooperation Agency in a statement.
The Qatar government did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Thursday. Qatar is the second largest buyer of American military teams after Saudi Arabia, spending more than $ 26 billion for F-15 combat airplanes, Apache attack helicopters, missile defense systems and other equipment.
The proposed sale now goes to the United States Congress. Legislators usually intervene in such sales and, in some cases, can block them.
According to the terms of the sale, Qatar would buy eight of the drones, as well as hundreds of bombs and missiles to assemble the plane without pilot and the necessary equipment to fly them by satellite.
Atomics General Reapers, which cost around $ 30 million each, can fly at altitudes of more than 40,000 feet (12,100 meters) and have a resistance of more than 30 hours before needing to land. The plane has been flown by the US Army. Now about Yemen during the American bombing campaign there. The drone has a land and marine version.
However, Qatar’s initial approval occurs after the close United Arab Emirates have been waiting from 2020 to buy to 18 MQ-9 drones as Part of a $ 23 billion agreement that also includes advanced combat aircraft F-35. Trump has a particularly close relationship with the EAU, which He reached a diplomatic recognition agreement with Israel under its administration in 2020.
