Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced at the Pentagon that a letter of acceptance was signed to allow Qatar to build a training installation at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.
• The facility will host a Qatari contingent of F-15 aircraft and pilots for combined training intended to increase lethality and interoperability.
• A Qatari media official said the facility will not constitute a Qatari base, describing an initial 10-year commitment to build and maintain a dedicated area within the U.S. installation.
• Hegseth publicly thanked Qatar for mediating an Israel–Hamas prisoner exchange and for assisting in the release of an American in Afghanistan.
• The announcement followed President Trump’s executive order pledging U.S. defense of Qatar after reported Israeli strikes in Doha, and Mountain Home already hosts a Singaporean fighter squadron as precedent.