The U.S. Secretary of Defense and Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs signed letters of offer and acceptance for a potential $11 billion to buy U.S. Patriot, Javelin and AH-64 Apache helicopter systems.
Boeing [BA] produces the Apache. Lockheed Martin
[LMT] makes sensors for Apache and produces the PAC-3 missile for the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System. The Javelin Joint Venture, comprised of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon [RTN], build the Javelin missile system.
“Lockheed Martin is honored to support this foreign military sales program, which will provide Qatar with the PAC-3 Missile, the world’s most advanced, capable and reliable theater air defense missile, and proven sensor systems for Apache helicopter pilots for operations at night and in adverse weather,” said Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Executive Vice President Rick Edwards.
“(Monday’s) signing ceremony underscores the strong partnership between the United States and Qatar in the area of security and defense and will help improve our bilateral cooperation across a range of military operations,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also used the meeting to express his appreciation for the support that Qatar provides U.S. forces in the country. The visit followed Hagel’s visit to Doha last fall, where he met with Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs Minister Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah to sign and renew the 10-year U.S.-Qatar Defense Cooperation Agreement.
“This is a critically important relationship in the region,” Kirby said. “And the secretary is pleased to be able to continue to make it stronger.”