British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has announced that an RAF Typhoon aircraft will be involved in securing a World Cup football tournament in Qatar in partnership with the Qataris. He indicated that Royal Air Force and Navy officers would patrol the skies of Qatar during the tournament to protect it from terrorist attacks.

This task was assigned to the “Joint Squadron of Typhoon Aircraft”, also known as “Squadron 12”, based in the United Kingdom, in cooperation with the “Typhoon” aircraft of the Emir of Qatar Air Force. In this context, a security source confirmed to The Telegraph that the Department of Defense “will support Qatar with military means to combat terrorism and other threats to the tournament through the use of maritime security, operational planning and command and control support.”

The Combined Typhoon Squadron is the first joint UK squadron since World War II to conduct regular exercises in Qatar. The Emirati Qatar Air Force will oversee the tournament’s air security and handle most of the operations, while the UK’s contribution will depend on experience and capability.