Pentagon approves Mountain Home facility for Qatari F-15 training

The Pentagon announced Friday that it has approved construction of a facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho to host Qatari F‑15 fighter jets and train Qatari pilots, a move Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said will strengthen combined training and interoperability between U.S. and Qatari forces. The plan calls for the integration of 12 permanently assigned Qatari F‑15QA aircraft, use of the base airfield and training airspace, and the addition of roughly 300 Qatari and U.S. personnel to support operations.

Hegseth said the initiative will "enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, and interoperability" of the two militaries. Qatari Defense Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al‑Thani, speaking alongside Hegseth, said the facility will advance shared defense goals. A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic details, said Qatar will fund and construct the new infrastructure while operations will remain under U.S. jurisdiction and control, preserving the base's status as a U.S. Air Force installation.

Pentagon documents and an environmental study completed earlier noted the proposal would require construction and...