Joint British-Qatari Hawk squadron to be based at RAF Leeming Primary tabs 6th April 2021 UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and his Qatari counterpart, Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah, have announced an expansion of the relationship between each nation’s air forces. As part of the agreement, announced on April 1, RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire will become the British base for the new UK-Qatar joint Hawk training squadron. The unit will utilise the Qatar Emiri Air Force’s (QEAF’s) fleet of nine new BAE Systems Hawk Mk 167 aircraft, which are currently in production. The Ministry of Defence announcement noted that “the decision to base the new squadron at RAF Leeming represents a long-term commitment to the base, which provides a strategic and operational Main Operating Base for the RAF.”