RAF Coningsby’s joint RAF-Qatari Typhoon squadron deployed to Qatar to provide support at 2022 FIFA World Cup

Personnel from RAF Coningsby’s joint RAF-Qatari Typhoon squadron have been deployed to Qatar, where the squadron will provide support to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place from 20 November to 18 December, to provide security from the air, providing “safe and secure skies” during the event.

12 Squadron will be deployed to work and train alongside the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF), using the operational knowledge gained during the past few years working together on the joint Typhoon squadron at RAF Coningsby, to successfully form Qatar’s first Typhoon squadron at Dukhan Air Base in Qatar.

The six-month deployment, known as ‘Project Thariyat’, has seen 200 personnel and eight Typhoon aircraft deploy to Qatar over the past month, with the final four jets departing RAF Coningsby today (Tuesday).

Speaking on Monday before the remaining crew departed, Qatar Air Programmes Senior Responsible Officer, Air Commodore Rich Yates, said that the Typhoon aircrafts are the best of their kind and have been described as a pleasure to fly.

"The fact is that Lincolnshire has such a fantastic base here in Coningsby, and it is the perfect home for 12 Squadron,” he said.

"It’s a huge range of emotion for me to see this project come together – excitement, pride – and I’m really grateful for all the hard work from all across the departments.

"It’s a small team here and they’ve done a brilliant job making a day like today [Monday] come together.”

The RAF and QEAF will use the operational knowledge gained during the past few years working together on the joint Typhoon squadron at RAF Coningsby to successfully form Qatar’s first Typhoon squadron at Dukhan Air Base in Qatar.

Squadron Leader Luke Wilkinson, 12 Squadron Executive Officer and pilot, said: “I’m very excited about this year’s deployment to Qatar. It’s the culmination of years of work to get to this stage where we’re really proving the concept of the joint squadron.

"We are showing the power of Typhoon in air security for a major global event, and we are showcasing the best of both the RAF and the Qatar Emiri Air Force.”

12 Squadron’s deployment to Qatar builds upon the strong bilateral defence relationship between Qatar and the UK, exemplified by the fact that 12 Sqn is the RAF’s first joint squadron with another nation since the Second World War.

When asked if England were going to win the World Cup, Air Cdre Yates said “absolutely! This year it’s coming home!”

Wilko, on the other hand, said it was probably too soon to speculate who would win, but that he wanted to see Wales do well as he has family ties to the country, and he thinks that Argentina might be the ones to win.