Turkish F-16s Deployed in Qatar?

The Turkey-Qatar relationship, which has developed in recent years, is seen as one of the most important success areas of Turkish foreign policy. In 2015, the security dimension was added to the scope of this relationship, which has economic, political and regional cooperation areas, and a multifaceted relationship network was woven between the two countries.

In accordance with the "Turkey-Qatar Military Cooperation Agreement" signed between the two countries in 2015, it was decided to deploy Turkish troops at the 'Al Rayyan Base' in the capital Doha. In this context, Turkey dispatched the first military unit consisting of around 150 military personnel to this base in October of the same year. Although the number of Turkish personnel at Al Rayyan Base, which has a capacity of 3 thousand people, dropped to 94 for a while, it is rumoured that Turkey is in the process of deploying even fighter jets to Qatar. According to a report in Azernews on 26 July, "Turkey will send two patrol ships and six F-16 aircraft to Qatar."

According to the report, TCG KUMKALE and TCG KUŞADASI military ships will leave Aksaz naval base on 26 July, while military aircraft will fly to Doha on 30 July. Except for social media in Turkey, this topic was not mentioned in the Turkish press and/or in the press releases of the Ministry of National Defence. Maybe I may have missed it!

For what purpose are Turkish troops in Qatar?

The number of active personnel of the Qatari Armed Forces is 11,800, including 8,500 land forces, 1,800 naval forces and 1,500 air forces.

Since the establishment of the Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee in December 2014, relations between the two countries have made great progress at all levels, especially in the fields of military and defence industry. Pursuant to the "Joint Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of a High Strategic Committee between the Republic of Turkey and the State of Qatar" signed between the two countries on 19 December 2014, cooperation was established between the two countries in the fields of military training and defence industry, paving the way for Turkish Armed Forces to serve in Qatar. The agreement was approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 5 March 2015.

Qatar had defence agreements with the USA, the United Kingdom and France. Thus, Turkey joined this caravan. On the eve of the deployment of the unit sent by Turkey to Qatar, the main mission of the unit was stated as; "Supporting the development of Qatar's defence capability and capabilities through joint/joint exercises and trainings to be carried out, enabling both sides to carry out training/exercises with the Armed Forces of other countries, and contributing to the fight against terrorism and international peace". In those years, Turkey showed a will to intervene in the power struggle between Iran and the Gulf countries. According to Turkish foreign policy makers, this strategic vision would fulfil a function that reinforced Turkey's claim to be a regional power.

Turkey's military deployment to Qatar was initiated as part of an initial plan to establish an advisory command group within the Qatari General Staff and to build a military base of around 500 to 600 Turkish troops. The Turkish contingent was initially stationed at the Tariq bin Ziyad Battalion. Meanwhile, under the agreement, the Turkish Armed Forces were stationed in Qatar, while joint military exercises were organised between the two countries. Finally, on 14 December 2019, the Qatar Turkish Joint Joint Force Command Headquarters was inaugurated with a ceremony attended by the Ministers of Defence and Chiefs of General Staff of the two countries, and the headquarters was named Khalid Bin Walid Barracks.

The blockade imposed on Qatar was broken with Turkey's support

Although the main mission of the Turkish contingent was defined as the training of Qatari soldiers, it was also envisaged to intervene immediately in possible crises that might develop in the region. Indeed, on 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed all diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed an economic embargo on the country, accusing it of "supporting terrorist groups". While these countries imposed some conditions on Qatar to lift the blockade, one of these conditions was the closure of the Turkish military base in Doha.

This led to an unexpected crisis in the Gulf region. Turkey did not withdraw its troops and took steps to consolidate its military and political sphere of influence, refusing to accept the 13-point list of demands that these four countries wanted Qatar to fulfil, including the closure of the Turkish base and the termination of the military co-operation established between Turkey and Qatar.

In the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 7 June 2017, the draft law on the deployment of Turkish troops in Qatar was adopted, diplomatically expressing to the relevant countries that Turkey would not withdraw its troops. In addition, Turkey delivered food, water and medicine by air and sea to Qatar, which was subjected to a blockade by four countries. The number of soldiers serving in the Turkish unit, which was previously limited to around 100 personnel, was increased after 2017, taking into account the increasing capacity of the military compound named 'Turkish-Qatari Combined Joint Force Command'. Cooperation in the military industry also gained momentum when Qatar invested $100 million in BMC and bought a 49.9 per cent stake in a state-owned tank pallet factory in Sakarya province in northwestern Turkey. In the context of the economic crisis in 2018, Qatar also invested $15 billion directly in the Turkish economy. In this context, the increasing harmony between Ankara and Doha continued to develop in the form of solidarity and cooperation under all circumstances.

In the context of continued military cooperation, the two countries are conducting joint military exercises. For example, the Turkey-Qatar Joint Exercise was held in Qatar between 02-31 March 2021 with the participation of Qatari and Turkish Armed Forces. The purpose of the exercise was to develop mutual cooperation and interoperability between the Qatari and Turkish Armed Forces and to contribute to increasing the military capacity of the Qatari Armed Forces. The Qatar-Turkey Combined Joint Force Command participated in the exercise with a Mechanised Infantry Company and an Artillery Battery.

Conclusion

The chaos that emerged during the Arab Spring and the ambiguous attitudes of the Gulf states towards it led to a wobble in the political, military and social relations between Turkey and the Gulf states. In the midst of regional developments, Turkey sought to protect its own geopolitical interests. The two countries' foreign policy pursuits based on pragmatism have brought Qatar and Turkey's paths together. Doha found it necessary to side with Ankara for largely pragmatic reasons. Thus, the growth in Turkish-Qatari diplomatic relations was fuelled by Turkey's quest to broadly expand its economic and security interests in the Gulf region.

In 2014, the establishment of the Turkish High Strategic Committee paved the way for more institutionalised high-level dialogue and cooperation between the two countries. In the military sphere, the Turkey-Qatar Military Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force in 2015, led to the establishment of a Turkish military base in Qatar. In this context, I assess that after the Qatar diplomatic crisis in 2017, Qatar had little choice but to strengthen its pragmatic protection policy under Turkey's leadership. Today, Doha is largely dependent on Turkey (and paradoxically the US) for military protection in order to preserve the space to pursue an autonomous foreign policy.

Two days ago, on 8 August, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Temim bin Hamed Al Thani. President Erdoğan said that Turkey is fully committed to furthering cooperation with Qatar in political, military, commercial and cultural fields, especially in economic relations, and that the solidarity between the two countries will be strengthened with the steps to be taken.

Apparently, it is rumoured that the military relations between the two countries will further increase, and in addition, in the near future, air elements can and even are serving in Qatar. Could 4-6 Turkish F-16s be deployed in Qatar?

References

Medyascope, “Türkiye, Katar’a nasıl üs kurdu?”, 8 Haziran 2017. https://medyascope.tv/2017/06/08/turkiye-katara-nasil-us-kurdu/

Bülent Erandaç. “Katar'da 2. Türk Üssü'nü Kurduk”. SDE. 19 Ağustos 2019. https://www.sde.org.tr/bulent-erandac/genel/katarda-2-turk-ussunu-kurduk-kose-yazisi-10952

CRU Report January 2021. https://www.clingendael.org/pub/2021/drivers-of-turkish-qatari-relations/4-turkish-and-qatari-cooperation-on-security-and-defence/

Nesibe Hicret Battaloğlu, “Reflecting on the Turkey-Qatar Partnership, Fifty Years Later”, GSS, 2023 Ağustos, https://gulfif.org/reflecting-on-the-turkey-qatar-partnership-fifty-years-later/

Michael Stephens. “Where Did it All Go Wrong? The Qatar-Turkey Power House Comes Up Short”. RUSI. 14 January 2014. https://rusi.org/publication/where-did-it-all-go-wrong-qatar-turkey-power-house-comes-short

Serdar Bıtmez, Hacer Başer, Mehmet Nuri Uçar, Mahmut Geldi, Zeynep Hilal Karyağdı Duran. “Türkiye-Katar ilişkileri son 20 yılda büyük gelişme gösterdi”. Anadolu Ajansı. 6 Aralık 2021.  https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/turkiye-katar-iliskileri-son-20-yilda-buyuk-gelisme-gosterdi/2439884

Mümin Altaş. “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan, Katar Emiri Al Sani ile görüştü.” Anadolu Ajansı. 8 Ağustos 2024. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/politika/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-katar-emiri-al-sani-ile-gorustu/3298780

Alimat Aliyeva. “Turkiye transfers 2 patrol ships and six F-16 aircraft to Qatar”. Azernews. 26 Temmuz 2024. https://www.azernews.az/region/229131.html