The US State Department has approved the sale of 72 F-15QA fighter jets to the government of Qatar, along with weapons and related support, equipment and training.

The estimated cost is $21.1 billion, and the prime contractor will be Chicago-based Boeing.

The other contractors include: Astronautics Corporation of America, Arlington (Virginia); BAE Systems, also Arlington; Elbit Systems of America, Fort Worth (Texas); Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co, also Fort Worth; General Electric Aviation, Cincinnati (Ohio); and Honeywell Aerospace, Phoenix (Arizona).

A Qatari government spokesman said: “The proposed sale improves Qatar’s capability to meet current and future enemy air-to-air and air-to-ground threats.

“Qatar will use the capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defence. Qatar will have no difficulty absorbing these aircraft into its armed forces.

“The sale of this aircraft, equipment, training, and support services will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

The US State Department has also approved the sale of 40 Boeing Super Hornet jets to Kuwait. A Boeing spokesman said: “The Kuwait sale will extend our production line through mid-2018.

“Combined with orders from the US Navy, we will continue building two Super Hornets per month into the 2020s.”

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin is still awaiting the approval of an order from Bahrain for its F-16 jet. The company has
recently sold these aircraft to several countries, including Indonesia and Colombia.