Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Qatari Defence Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani signed a letter of acceptance at the Pentagon approving the facility.
• The site will host Qatari F-15s and pilots for joint training with U.S. forces, and reporting indicates the installation will be inside a U.S. base under U.S. jurisdiction.
• Key implementation specifics, including contractor arrangements and timelines, were not fully detailed, with some negotiations still unfinished, according to Axios.
• The arrangement builds on a 2017 $12 billion U.S. sale of F-15QA jets to Qatar and follows precedent for foreign training detachments at Mountain Home, such as Singapore’s F-15 unit.
• The announcement drew mixed reactions, with Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson praising the partnership and some pro-Trump influencers condemning the plan on national security grounds.