Israeli defense companies supplied Qatar and Saudi Arabia with aircraft defense systems and advanced F-15 fighter jet components in covert deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Haaretz reported.
The newspaper said it reviewed documents and recent photographs showing that Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries supplied military systems and components under Boeing contracts for Qatar and Saudi Arabia through US Department of Defense subcontracts.
According to the report, Qatar equipped three aircraft in its royal fleet, including two Boeing 747s and an Airbus A340-500, with Elbit Systems’ C-MUSIC system, which is designed to protect aircraft from infrared-guided missiles.
Protecting Qatar’s emir
Photographs of Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during a visit to El Salvador in September 2023 showed the system mounted beneath the aircraft. Haaretz said the systems were installed during maintenance work carried out in Basel, Switzerland, between 2020 and 2022.
The system detects shoulder-fired missiles and emits infrared beams to disrupt their guidance systems. It is the same system used on official Israeli and French government aircraft, as well as on aircraft operated by several NATO member states.
Qatar’s emir in El Salvador, Sept. 2023The newspaper said the systems were also used to protect the aircraft carrying Qatar’s emir and prime minister on overseas trips, noting that the aircraft that flew Sheikh Tamim to Tehran last year was equipped with the Israeli-made system.
The documents also revealed that Israeli companies secured subcontracts under Boeing’s F-15QA fighter jet program for the Qatari Air Force after Doha ordered 36 aircraft.
According to the report, the contracts were worth between $150 million and $250 million. They involved Elbit subsidiaries, including Elbit America and Cyclone, as well as Collins Elbit Vision Systems, which manufactures the advanced JHMCS pilot helmet and supplies AN/AVS-9 night-vision goggles.
The newspaper added that other Israeli companies, including the aviation division of Israel Aerospace Industries, TAT Technologies, and Beth-El Industries, also supplied components for Qatar’s aircraft.
Saudi Arabia an indirect customer
The deals were not limited to Qatar. Haaretz said Saudi Arabia also received Israeli-made products under Boeing’s F-15SA fighter jet program.
It said the US Department of Defense procured 462 advanced JHMCS combat helmets and 462 AN/AVS-9 night-vision goggles for the Royal Saudi Air Force. The equipment is manufactured by Israeli companies through the Collins Elbit Vision Systems joint venture.
The newspaper estimated that the helmets supplied to Saudi Arabia alone were worth about $100 million, while Qatar separately purchased 160 helmets of the same model in a $35 million deal.
The revelations come months after the “Qatargate” scandal erupted, prompting investigations into financial and business ties between Qatari interests and officials and associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
They also align with earlier Israeli reports that Netanyahu’s government approved more than $100 million in defense deals and that Israeli intermediaries, including former security officials, received commissions from contracts to supply aircraft protection systems used by Qatar’s ruling family.
