An MQ-9B 'Sky Guardian' drone. Photo / Airwolfhound on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
An MQ-9B 'Sky Guardian' drone. Photo / Airwolfhound on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
The United States has approved a $1.96 billion (NZ$3.42b) sale of eight MQ-9B drones and related equipment to Qatar, one of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the securityof a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement.
The sale “will improve Qatar’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing timely intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, target acquisition, counter-land, and counter-surface sea capabilities for its security and defence,” DSCA said.
“This capability is a deterrent to regional threats and will primarily be used to strengthen its homeland defence,” it added.
The State Department approved the possible sale and the DSCA on Wednesday provided the required notification to the US Congress, which still needs to sign off on the transaction.
The sale would mark the first MQ-9 sale to the Middle East for contractor General Atomics, the Breaking Defense website said.
General Atomics said the MQ-9B was designed to fly over the horizon via satellite for up to 40 hours or more in all types of weather.
Qatar, a small and gas-rich peninsula home to three million people, has played a key role as a mediator in efforts to bring an end to the devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began with a shock attack by the Palestinian militant group in October 2023.
