The US and Qatar have finalized an $11 billion arms deal, which will provide advanced PATRIOT air defense batteries to the Gulf state, as well as other materiel, according to a July 14 release. The deal highlights the “strong partnership between the United States and Qatar in the area of security and defense,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby. The US-Qatar alliance is a “critically important relationship” in the region, Kirby added. Qatar and the US updated their defense pact last December, and the new deal upgrades the country’s air and missile defense capabilities. The PATRIOT sale, first unveiled in November 2012 by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, provides 11 modernized PATRIOT batteries, equipment, and logistical support—valued at over $9 billion. In July 2012, DSCA informed Congress of the potential sale of 24 AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters and associated equipment to the Qataris, valued at an estimated $3 billion at the time. In March 2013, the Pentagon also announced the potential sale of 500 Javelin anti-tank missiles, valued at $122 million.
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…