A Qatari Navy Special Forces vessel off the coast of the Qatari capital, Doha. (KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)
DIMDEX 2022: The Qatari Navy has signed a new contract with Italy’s Leonardo to develop a Naval Operation Center (NOC) for the military service, the first of its kind in the country.
The center will ensure navy forces monitor and control Qatar’s territorial water, Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent waters. The center, which will control radars and sea-based tracking in real time, will include electronic warfare systems.
“This agreement is very important for us,” Qatari Emiri Navy Chief Maj. Gen. Abdullah Hassan Al-Sulaiti told Breaking Defense. “The resulting maritime command and control center will be linked with the ships in the theater of operations. It is like the Navy’s eye in the sea.”
Located inside the naval base in Umm Al Houl, a new naval base adjacent to the Hamad commercial port in development south of Doha, the center will enhance cooperation with other national agencies in charge of maritime security, according to a statement by Leonardo.
“The Centre leverages on innovative systems and technologies as well as the full integration of air and maritime components,” the statement said.
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Notably, Al-Sulaiti said that the physical center is already constructed, and just needs the equipment from Leonardo installed. “Its equipment will allow data storage, complete maritime monitoring and vision, so the decision making for the naval theatre of operation’s will be facilitated,” he said.
Al-Sulaiti disclosed that the center will be linked to a satellite allowing real time imagery, but he didn’t respond to Breaking Defense question about the worth of the deal or give details on what satellite would be connected to.
Under the agreement, the center will provide command, control and coordination of operations at sea allowing the Armed Forces to carry out integrated monitoring between all the sensors on the field.
Hence the navy will have a full integrated situational awareness to support operational and tactical decision-making process and rapid interventions along the entire chain of command.
The Umm Al Houl base was also the subject of a new letter of intent signed during the show between Barzan Holdings and BAE Systems to establish a center to provide technical and logistical services for the base. Technical services to support and maintain parts of the Qatari fleet are included in the deal.
A feasibility study for the project will be conducted, and implementation will be carried out after agreement and signing the official contract, according to the announcement.
