Qatari Emiri Navy

Qatari Emiri Navy
Country  Qatar
Branch Navy
Role Protection of Qatari territorial waters and oil rigs
Size
  • 1800 personnel
Part of Qatar Armed Forces
Base locations
Equipment
  • 86 boats
Commanders
Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Al Mohannadi[1]

The Qatari Emiri Navy (QEN), also called the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces (QENF), is the naval branch of the armed forces of the State of Qatar.

History

The State of Qatar did not possess any ships originally upon gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1971, but by 1992 the country's armed forces had grown considerably, and included a navy of about 700 personnel. Three La Combattante III missile boats from France formed the core of the Qatari fleet in the 1990s, later seeing the addition of six Vosper Thornycroft large patrol boats. By 2010 it increased in size to about 1800 personnel, and has taken part in multiple naval exercises with the United States Navy and other countries.[2]

Organization

Unable to support a large military, Qatar relies on a smaller mobile force that can quickly repel incursions into its territorial waters. However, the Iran-Iraq War saw attacks on shipping just outside the country's territorial waters, underscoring its vulnerability. Despite the expansion the Qatar Emiri Navy remains too under-manned, under-trained, and under-equipped to be able to effectively defend its waters as well as the commercial assets in it.[2] The Qatar Navy includes its coastguard, marine police and coastal artillery.

Ships

The Qatari navy currently has the following ships:[3]

Surface Combatants

Patrol Forces

Amphibious Forces

Auxiliary

Special Maritime Forces

Missiles and Equipment

Future Acquisitions

The patrol boat program calls for the delivery of six patrol boats with the first unit beginning construction in 2012 and being delivered by 2014. Although the proposals for the corvette program are due in the near-term as well, AMI believes that the four corvettes may not begin construction for several more years as Damen/Nakilat may want to gain some experience with the smaller 62-meter patrol boat hulls prior to moving on the larger Sigma hulls. If the QENF wishes to move the corvette program forward to an earlier date, it could start some of the hull blocks at Nakilat and/or at Damen in the Netherlands much earlier.[4]

The Qatar Coast Guard Services placed an order for 17 new fast patrol boast from Turkish company ARES Shipyard. The deal of 17 vessels consists in 10x "ARES 110 Hercules" multi-role patrol craft 117 tons, 5x "ARES 75 Hercules" multi-role patrol craft 58 tons and 2x "ARES 150 Hercules" multi-role patrol craft 245 tons. These Fast Patrol Boats will be constructed using advanced composite materials and are expected to be completed within the next 5 years.[5]

March 31, 2014. Nakilat Damen Shipyards Qatar (NDSQ) and Qatar Armed Forces have signed two MoUs for the construction of seven vessels at Qatar’s premier shipyard ($851 million). The MoUs signed by NDSQ and Qatar Armed Forces concern six 50m-long axe-bow high-speed patrol vessels and one 52m-long diving support vessel for the Qatar Armed Forces. The diving support vessel includes decompression capabilities. A large Integrated Logistic Support package is also mentioned in the MoUs.[6]

June 16, 2016. Qatar has signed a letter of agreement with Italian shipyard Fincantieri to build:

The deal has a worth of €4.9 billion.[7]

References

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