Qatari armed forces facility to be built in Idaho, Defense secretary says

BOISE, Idaho — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that a facility for a branch of Qatar’s armed forces will be built at the Mountain Home Air Force Base south of Boise.

“Today, we’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatar Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho,” he told reporters at the Pentagon. “The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase lethality, interoperability.”

Hegseth added that it’s “just another example of our partnership,” while seated next to the Qatari Minister of Defense Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The announcement came during a news conference addressing the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, where he thanked Qatar for the “substantial role” they played.

“I want to thank you for that historic peace,” Hegseth told Al Thani.

Pilots from the Qatar Emiri Air Force, and their F-15s, will join a base that already houses members of the Republic of Singapore Air Force, who have trained and lived in the quiet town outside of Boise since 2009.

The possibility of Friday’s move was announced years ago, and in 2022 the Air Force honed in on Mountain Home as the location to house 300 personnel, including a 170 Qatari trainees and 130 U.S. Air Force active duty personnel and contractors, the Idaho Statesman reported.

It’s unclear whether the specifics from that contract remain the same. The Statesman reached out to the Mountain Home Air Force Base, the Governor’s Office and the White House for more information.

U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, praised the news on social media.

“This development is beneficial for training, enhances our partnership with America’s allies, and strengthens national security,” Simpson wrote on X.

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