Unlock the White Home Watch publication without cost
Your information to what Trump’s second time period means for Washington, enterprise and the world
With two 12,000-feet runways stretching into the Qatari desert, Al Udeid is the biggest and arguably a very powerful US army set up within the Center East.
Earlier than it was focused by an Iranian missile barrage on Monday, satellite tv for pc imagery final week had confirmed the US relocating dozens of plane from the bottom after Israel’s assault on Iran. Round 40 US army plane disappeared, shrinking the fleet on the base to only three by June 19.
Qatar’s defence ministry mentioned that it had “efficiently intercepted” all of the missiles fired on the base.
Al Udeid is house to US Central Command’s Mixed Air Operations Middle — the nerve centre for air energy in Centcom’s total space of accountability, which stretches from Egypt to Central Asia. It’s also the operational headquarters for the UK’s Royal Air Power within the Gulf area.
From the bottom, American, British and different allied officers have co-ordinated air campaigns in Iraq and Syria, drone strikes in Yemen and logistical help for Afghanistan operations.
No US plane concerned within the strikes in opposition to Iranian nuclear targets on Sunday used the services. Qatar had beforehand informed the US it could not enable its based mostly be used to assault Iran, its neighbour with which it historically had good relations.
In-built 1996 with Qatari funding and expanded after the September 11, 2001 assaults within the US, the bottom as we speak hosts greater than 10,000 US personnel, together with a rotating forged of coalition companions.
About 12 sq. miles in measurement, Al Udeid additionally boasts a battery of Patriot anti-missile interceptors, hardened plane shelters, and intensive gas storage services. It commonly hosts B-52 bombers, F-15 Eagle fighter jets, KC-135 refuelling tankers and surveillance plane just like the RC-135 Rivet Joint. In the course of the top of the conflict on terror, it served as a launch pad for each day strikes and resupply sorties all through the area.
Although Al Udeid is the air hub, the primary US naval presence within the Gulf relies in close by Manama, Bahrain, house to the US Fifth Fleet. Collectively, the 2 kind a complementary structure: naval dominance within the Strait of Hormuz, and fast air logistics and strike functionality from Qatar.
Bahrain on Monday confirmed the short-term suspension of its airspace as a precautionary measure.
Al Udeid’s long-term standing stays delicate, and the bottom has grow to be an uneasy image of American leverage within the area and the dependence of the Gulf monarchies on US army power for his or her safety.
US lawmakers used negotiations over the bottom’s lease extension — which was just lately renewed for a decade — as a chance to demand more durable Qatari stances on Hamas, Iranian proxies and terror financing.
Qatar, a small nation cautious of its vulnerability to bigger neighbours, has invested closely to maintain the US presence secure, spending greater than $1bn on infrastructure upgrades, in keeping with press reviews.
However Qatar’s position has been a delicate challenge since regional hostilities intensified within the wake of Hamas’s assault on Israel in October 7, 2023. Qatari officers mentioned in 2024 that Al Udeid wouldn’t function a launching floor for regional or exterior strikes, partly for concern of blowback.
