Who will protect Qatar?
The Qatari crisis has riveted the attention of the whole world to this small state on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Due to the huge reserves of natural gas and oil, Qatar has become one of the richest countries in the modern world. This circumstance led to the fact that the country began to claim a role that is clearly disproportionate in its size and population in world politics. It was Qatar who took the most active part in the Arab spring of 2011 and had a hand in the overthrow of the secular Arab nationalist regimes in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, and in the unleashing of a civil war in Syria. However, now the Emirate is in a critical situation. Danger came from yesterday's allies. 5 June 2017 and Qatar broke diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, as well as Mauritania, Mauritius, the Maldives and the Comoros. The governments of these countries have accused Qatar of supporting international terrorist organizations, spreading extremist ideology and interfering in the internal affairs of the states of the region. A complete blockade of Qatar was launched.
Naturally, the current situation raised the question of the possibility of a military operation against Qatar. Despite the colossal role in the Middle East and even world politics, Qatar is very poorly protected. Recall that in Qatar, a tiny emirate, there are only 2,5 million people. Of these, only about 300 thousand people are citizens of Qatar. As in most other oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf, the bulk of the inhabitants of Qatar are foreign workers and employees - immigrants from India, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and other countries in Asia and Africa who are stateless and do not possess no rights. Migrant workers work in almost all areas of the country's economy, from low-skilled labor to jobs requiring higher education and high qualifications. The small indigenous population of Qatar makes the country's mobilization reserve simply insignificant.
Qatar’s armed forces are also very small. Their number is about 12 thousand people. History The modern Qatari army began in 1971, when the emirate gained independence from Britain. Oil revenues allowed the Qatari emirs to take care of the armament and equipment of their soldiers, but the Qatari army from the first days of its existence was faced with the most important problem - personnel. Indigenous Qatari even now make up only 30% of the country's armed forces. The rest of the military personnel are mercenaries - immigrants from other states of the Arab world and Pakistan. The core of the Qatari army are the Emir ground forces, numbering only 8,5 thousand soldiers and officers. The ground forces include the following units and units. Firstly, it is a brigade of the emir’s guard consisting of three infantry battalions, performing the duties of personal protection of the emir, his family members, and emir’s residences. Secondly, these are actually ground forces, consisting of 4 mechanized infantry battalions, 1 artillery battalion (consisting of 4 artillery and 1 anti-aircraft batteries), 1 armored brigade (tank battalion, mechanized infantry battalion, anti-tank battalion and mortar company) and 1 company for special purposes.
The Qatari emirs have always tried to compensate for the small number of land forces with generous arms costs. Although Qatar was previously controlled by the British, until recently the bulk of the Qatari army’s armored vehicles were French. First of all, we are talking about 40 tanks AMX-30S, as well as tanks AMX-30S, adapted for conducting combat operations in the desert terrain. In 2013, Qatar ordered the 62 tank Leopard - 2 A7 of German production. Supplies of tanks from Germany began in the 2015 year, and to date, there are about 30 such tanks in the Qatari army.
The mechanized infantry units of the Qatari army are equipped with a variety of armored vehicles, mainly French-made. First, it is the 12 combat reconnaissance vehicles (BRM) AMX-10RC, sometimes called "wheeled tanks." The armament of such a BRM consists of an 105-mm cannon and an 7,62-mm machine gun paired with it. A developed fire control system identifies targets during the day and at night. It consists of a laser range finder, an electronic ballistic computer and a thermal sight that can work in the dark. In addition to the "wheeled tanks", the Qatari army also has 16 armored reconnaissance vehicles of the French-made VBL class. These are light armored vehicles developed by Panhard General Defense as early as the middle of the 1980s. The Qatari army has 40 French AMX-10P infantry fighting vehicles armed with an 20-mm M693 cannon with a day sight with an increase of 6x. The mechanized units are armed with 30 AMX-VCI - French-made armored personnel carriers and 160 VAB, 4 VAB VPM81 and 24 VAB VCAC HOT armored personnel carriers - all French-made.
The Qatari army has X-NUMX American-made Cadillac Commando V-8 armored personnel carriers. The 15 British light reconnaissance Ferret armored vehicles are in storage, the use of which began in the 12s. In the same condition and 1950 Engesa EE-20 Cascavel - Brazilian-made wheeled combat reconnaissance vehicles manufactured from the 9-s. Engesa EE-1970 Cascavel, by the way, became widespread in Asia and Africa thanks to a simple and reliable design and the ability to use both for conducting reconnaissance and for supporting infantry units and anti-tank actions.
Back in the late 1990's. In Qatar, MOWAG Piranha was produced in Switzerland. Now in the Qatari army there are 40 units - 36 vehicles with 90-mm cannons, 2 command and control vehicles and 2 armored repair and recovery vehicles. The ground forces have 9 self-propelled German-French-made Roland-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems, which are equipped with special radar tracking systems. As for man-portable air defense systems, the French Mistrals are also in the lead - they are in QN units of the 24 unit, but the 20 of the Russian Strela-2 are also in service. In the Qatari army there 28 155mm ACS AMX Mk F-3, 15 120mm mortar Brandt, 4 81 mm self-propelled mortar the VPM (based VAB), 26 81mm mortars L16, 44-48 ATGM "Hot" (including 24 self-propelled, based on VAB) and 60-100 ATGM Milan.
The armored vehicles of the Qatari ground forces were for the first time involved in a serious conflict during Operation Storm in the Desert, where, according to foreign military experts, it showed itself quite well. Then Qatari armored vehicles were used in other local conflicts in the Middle East.
Qatar authorities pay much attention to the development of the air force. The Qatari Emir Air Force was created in 1974, somewhat later by the ground forces. Over time, they were also based on French-made equipment diluted with products from other countries. Now the Air Force of Qatar are 9 aircraft "Mirage-2000-5EDA" and 3 "Mirage-2000-5DDA», 6 combat training aircraft Alpha Jet, 12-13 helicopters Westland "Commando» Mk2A (3, transport), Mk2C ( 1-2, VIP) and Mk3 (8, maritime patrols, 2 of them are equipped to carry 1 AM-39 "Exocet" ASM), 11 SA-342L helicopters "Gazelle" (with ATGM "Hot"), 18 helicopters Apususus . Organizationally, Qatar Air Force includes 139 fighter-bomber and 1 assault squadrons, 1 transport squadrons, 1 helicopter squadrons and 3 air defense missile division.
Traditionally, the highest commanding staff of the Qatari army was recruited from among the representatives of the Emir surname. This is not surprising, since in Qatar, as in other monarchies of the Persian Gulf, the traditional feudal system of social and political organization was preserved. The supreme commander of the Qatari army is Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (born 1980), replacing his father Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani on the throne of the head of state in 2013. By the way, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani received a higher military education in the UK - in the renowned Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, after which he served in the Qatari army in command positions. The State Minister for the Defense of Qatar is Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah (born 1967), one of the representatives of the Banu Tamim tribe, to whom the name of Emir Al Thani belongs. Higher military education minister received in Saudi Arabia - at the King Faisal Air Force Academy. 1987 to 1995 Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah served as a fighter pilot in the Qatari Air Force, but then resigned from military service and engaged in legal business. 2008 to 2011 He headed the Ministry of International Cooperation, in 2013-2016. he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in 2016 he became Minister of State for Defense.
Unlike senior officers, the middle and junior officer positions of the Qatari army for a long time had a lot of immigrants from other countries of the Arab world - primarily from Oman, Yemen and Jordan, as well as Pakistanis. Formally, Qatar’s armed forces are recruited by recruiting volunteers - male nationals from 17 to 25 years, but the law provides for contractual service in the Qatari army of foreign citizens, which the authorities successfully use to cover the personnel shortage of professional soldiers by hiring foreigners.
The small size of the Qatari army and the virtual absence of a mobilization reserve make Qatar an easy prey for stronger neighbors in the event of any military conflict. Qatar will not be able to compete with either Saudi Arabia or Iran. This is perfectly understood by the emir and his entourage, trying to maneuver between more powerful states. Firstly, Qatar has the most strategically important American military base in the region - Al-Adid. Over the twenty years of its existence, the United States spent huge amounts of money on the base. It is on it that CENTCOM, the center of command and control of American troops in the Middle East and Indian Ocean, displaced from Saudi Arabia in the early 2000s, acts. It also houses a large number of American aviation and armored vehicles. Naturally, the very fact of the presence of an American military base in Qatar, and even of such a level, given the small territory of the country, implies that the United States controls the military-political situation in Qatar and, if necessary, can act as a defender or grave digger of the emirate.
When at the beginning of June 2017, a number of Middle Eastern and African states announced that their diplomatic relations with Qatar were severed, Turkey immediately took the side of the emirate. It is known that the last years between Ankara and Doha have developed a special relationship. Back in 2014, Turkey and Qatar signed an agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation between countries, which, among other things, provided for the possibility of creating a Turkish military base in Qatar. However, for the time being - before the time Turkey was in no hurry to open its military mission in Qatar, and this is the need for a Turkish military presence in the emirate.
On June 7, the Turkish Parliament passed the law on the deployment of the Turkish military contingent in Qatar, and the Turkish military delegation left for Doha on June 10 to study on the spot the possibilities of deploying the Turkish contingent. We are talking about the deployment in Qatar of numerous, up to three thousand troops, the Turkish military contingent. In fact, against the background of the diplomatic crisis, this gesture of Turkey means demonstrating the strength of the Arab states and Ankara’s readiness to protect Qatar’s emirate from direct military intervention of Saudi Arabian troops and other Arab states that broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar. In addition, Turkey is one of the key US military partners in the NATO bloc, which binds Washington’s hands - it is clear that the United States is unlikely to use military force against NATO allies.
Finally, we should not forget that Qatar has a special relationship with Iran - unlike Saudi Arabia, which is an open opponent of Tehran, the emirs of Qatar have always sought to maintain good relations with a powerful neighbor. When Saudi Arabia and its allies announced the blockade of Qatar, Iran sent airplanes with food to the emirate.
Thus, we see that, despite the small size and weakness of the Qatari army, the small emirate is under the reliable protection of more powerful allies, skillfully tacking between the major powers of the region and the world at large - Turkey, Iran, the United States and even Russia.
Naturally, the current situation raised the question of the possibility of a military operation against Qatar. Despite the colossal role in the Middle East and even world politics, Qatar is very poorly protected. Recall that in Qatar, a tiny emirate, there are only 2,5 million people. Of these, only about 300 thousand people are citizens of Qatar. As in most other oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf, the bulk of the inhabitants of Qatar are foreign workers and employees - immigrants from India, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and other countries in Asia and Africa who are stateless and do not possess no rights. Migrant workers work in almost all areas of the country's economy, from low-skilled labor to jobs requiring higher education and high qualifications. The small indigenous population of Qatar makes the country's mobilization reserve simply insignificant.
Qatar’s armed forces are also very small. Their number is about 12 thousand people. History The modern Qatari army began in 1971, when the emirate gained independence from Britain. Oil revenues allowed the Qatari emirs to take care of the armament and equipment of their soldiers, but the Qatari army from the first days of its existence was faced with the most important problem - personnel. Indigenous Qatari even now make up only 30% of the country's armed forces. The rest of the military personnel are mercenaries - immigrants from other states of the Arab world and Pakistan. The core of the Qatari army are the Emir ground forces, numbering only 8,5 thousand soldiers and officers. The ground forces include the following units and units. Firstly, it is a brigade of the emir’s guard consisting of three infantry battalions, performing the duties of personal protection of the emir, his family members, and emir’s residences. Secondly, these are actually ground forces, consisting of 4 mechanized infantry battalions, 1 artillery battalion (consisting of 4 artillery and 1 anti-aircraft batteries), 1 armored brigade (tank battalion, mechanized infantry battalion, anti-tank battalion and mortar company) and 1 company for special purposes.
The Qatari emirs have always tried to compensate for the small number of land forces with generous arms costs. Although Qatar was previously controlled by the British, until recently the bulk of the Qatari army’s armored vehicles were French. First of all, we are talking about 40 tanks AMX-30S, as well as tanks AMX-30S, adapted for conducting combat operations in the desert terrain. In 2013, Qatar ordered the 62 tank Leopard - 2 A7 of German production. Supplies of tanks from Germany began in the 2015 year, and to date, there are about 30 such tanks in the Qatari army.
The mechanized infantry units of the Qatari army are equipped with a variety of armored vehicles, mainly French-made. First, it is the 12 combat reconnaissance vehicles (BRM) AMX-10RC, sometimes called "wheeled tanks." The armament of such a BRM consists of an 105-mm cannon and an 7,62-mm machine gun paired with it. A developed fire control system identifies targets during the day and at night. It consists of a laser range finder, an electronic ballistic computer and a thermal sight that can work in the dark. In addition to the "wheeled tanks", the Qatari army also has 16 armored reconnaissance vehicles of the French-made VBL class. These are light armored vehicles developed by Panhard General Defense as early as the middle of the 1980s. The Qatari army has 40 French AMX-10P infantry fighting vehicles armed with an 20-mm M693 cannon with a day sight with an increase of 6x. The mechanized units are armed with 30 AMX-VCI - French-made armored personnel carriers and 160 VAB, 4 VAB VPM81 and 24 VAB VCAC HOT armored personnel carriers - all French-made.
The Qatari army has X-NUMX American-made Cadillac Commando V-8 armored personnel carriers. The 15 British light reconnaissance Ferret armored vehicles are in storage, the use of which began in the 12s. In the same condition and 1950 Engesa EE-20 Cascavel - Brazilian-made wheeled combat reconnaissance vehicles manufactured from the 9-s. Engesa EE-1970 Cascavel, by the way, became widespread in Asia and Africa thanks to a simple and reliable design and the ability to use both for conducting reconnaissance and for supporting infantry units and anti-tank actions.
Back in the late 1990's. In Qatar, MOWAG Piranha was produced in Switzerland. Now in the Qatari army there are 40 units - 36 vehicles with 90-mm cannons, 2 command and control vehicles and 2 armored repair and recovery vehicles. The ground forces have 9 self-propelled German-French-made Roland-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems, which are equipped with special radar tracking systems. As for man-portable air defense systems, the French Mistrals are also in the lead - they are in QN units of the 24 unit, but the 20 of the Russian Strela-2 are also in service. In the Qatari army there 28 155mm ACS AMX Mk F-3, 15 120mm mortar Brandt, 4 81 mm self-propelled mortar the VPM (based VAB), 26 81mm mortars L16, 44-48 ATGM "Hot" (including 24 self-propelled, based on VAB) and 60-100 ATGM Milan.
The armored vehicles of the Qatari ground forces were for the first time involved in a serious conflict during Operation Storm in the Desert, where, according to foreign military experts, it showed itself quite well. Then Qatari armored vehicles were used in other local conflicts in the Middle East.
Qatar authorities pay much attention to the development of the air force. The Qatari Emir Air Force was created in 1974, somewhat later by the ground forces. Over time, they were also based on French-made equipment diluted with products from other countries. Now the Air Force of Qatar are 9 aircraft "Mirage-2000-5EDA" and 3 "Mirage-2000-5DDA», 6 combat training aircraft Alpha Jet, 12-13 helicopters Westland "Commando» Mk2A (3, transport), Mk2C ( 1-2, VIP) and Mk3 (8, maritime patrols, 2 of them are equipped to carry 1 AM-39 "Exocet" ASM), 11 SA-342L helicopters "Gazelle" (with ATGM "Hot"), 18 helicopters Apususus . Organizationally, Qatar Air Force includes 139 fighter-bomber and 1 assault squadrons, 1 transport squadrons, 1 helicopter squadrons and 3 air defense missile division.
Traditionally, the highest commanding staff of the Qatari army was recruited from among the representatives of the Emir surname. This is not surprising, since in Qatar, as in other monarchies of the Persian Gulf, the traditional feudal system of social and political organization was preserved. The supreme commander of the Qatari army is Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (born 1980), replacing his father Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani on the throne of the head of state in 2013. By the way, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani received a higher military education in the UK - in the renowned Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, after which he served in the Qatari army in command positions. The State Minister for the Defense of Qatar is Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah (born 1967), one of the representatives of the Banu Tamim tribe, to whom the name of Emir Al Thani belongs. Higher military education minister received in Saudi Arabia - at the King Faisal Air Force Academy. 1987 to 1995 Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah served as a fighter pilot in the Qatari Air Force, but then resigned from military service and engaged in legal business. 2008 to 2011 He headed the Ministry of International Cooperation, in 2013-2016. he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in 2016 he became Minister of State for Defense.
Unlike senior officers, the middle and junior officer positions of the Qatari army for a long time had a lot of immigrants from other countries of the Arab world - primarily from Oman, Yemen and Jordan, as well as Pakistanis. Formally, Qatar’s armed forces are recruited by recruiting volunteers - male nationals from 17 to 25 years, but the law provides for contractual service in the Qatari army of foreign citizens, which the authorities successfully use to cover the personnel shortage of professional soldiers by hiring foreigners.
The small size of the Qatari army and the virtual absence of a mobilization reserve make Qatar an easy prey for stronger neighbors in the event of any military conflict. Qatar will not be able to compete with either Saudi Arabia or Iran. This is perfectly understood by the emir and his entourage, trying to maneuver between more powerful states. Firstly, Qatar has the most strategically important American military base in the region - Al-Adid. Over the twenty years of its existence, the United States spent huge amounts of money on the base. It is on it that CENTCOM, the center of command and control of American troops in the Middle East and Indian Ocean, displaced from Saudi Arabia in the early 2000s, acts. It also houses a large number of American aviation and armored vehicles. Naturally, the very fact of the presence of an American military base in Qatar, and even of such a level, given the small territory of the country, implies that the United States controls the military-political situation in Qatar and, if necessary, can act as a defender or grave digger of the emirate.
When at the beginning of June 2017, a number of Middle Eastern and African states announced that their diplomatic relations with Qatar were severed, Turkey immediately took the side of the emirate. It is known that the last years between Ankara and Doha have developed a special relationship. Back in 2014, Turkey and Qatar signed an agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation between countries, which, among other things, provided for the possibility of creating a Turkish military base in Qatar. However, for the time being - before the time Turkey was in no hurry to open its military mission in Qatar, and this is the need for a Turkish military presence in the emirate.
On June 7, the Turkish Parliament passed the law on the deployment of the Turkish military contingent in Qatar, and the Turkish military delegation left for Doha on June 10 to study on the spot the possibilities of deploying the Turkish contingent. We are talking about the deployment in Qatar of numerous, up to three thousand troops, the Turkish military contingent. In fact, against the background of the diplomatic crisis, this gesture of Turkey means demonstrating the strength of the Arab states and Ankara’s readiness to protect Qatar’s emirate from direct military intervention of Saudi Arabian troops and other Arab states that broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar. In addition, Turkey is one of the key US military partners in the NATO bloc, which binds Washington’s hands - it is clear that the United States is unlikely to use military force against NATO allies.
Finally, we should not forget that Qatar has a special relationship with Iran - unlike Saudi Arabia, which is an open opponent of Tehran, the emirs of Qatar have always sought to maintain good relations with a powerful neighbor. When Saudi Arabia and its allies announced the blockade of Qatar, Iran sent airplanes with food to the emirate.
Thus, we see that, despite the small size and weakness of the Qatari army, the small emirate is under the reliable protection of more powerful allies, skillfully tacking between the major powers of the region and the world at large - Turkey, Iran, the United States and even Russia.
- P P 'SЊSЏ RџRѕR "RѕRЅSЃRєRёR№
- globalmilitaryreview.blogspot.com
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