U.S. Central Command boss Adm. Brad Cooper, center right, speaks with Lt. Gen. Jassim Al-Mannai, the Qatari military's chief of staff, during a ceremony Nov. 3, 2025, at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The event marked the opening of a new combined command post for air defense staffed by American and Qatari personnel. ( Chris Thornbury/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. and Qatari forces at Al Udeid Air Base opened the Middle East’s first bilateral combined command post for air defense this week, the latest show of growing American solidarity with the key regional partner.
The post will allow for more cooperation between U.S. and Qatar when it comes to tracking and defending against air attacks, especially those coming from Iran and its proxies.
The grand opening Monday was attended by U.S. Central Command boss Adm. Brad Cooper and Lt. Gen. Jassim Al-Mannai, chief of staff of the Qatari military.
The facility “will enhance regional security cooperation today and in months and years to come,” Cooper said in a CENTCOM statement the same day.
Al Udeid hosts 10,000 U.S. troops and is the largest American base in the Middle East. The joint command post opened weeks after an Israeli airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha shook relations between the U.S. and Qatar.
Qatari leaders were furious following the attack, which they said came with little to no warning from the U.S. or Israel and was a violation of international law and sovereignty.
President Donald Trump shortly afterward signed an executive order vowing to use all measures to defend Qatar. During Trump’s second term, U.S.-Qatari ties have grown.
Earlier this year, Qatar gifted the United States a 747 jetliner to be put to use as a new Air Force One.
And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last month that the U.S. would allow the nation to build an Air Force facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho to train alongside American troops.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, dismissed the notion that Trump’s security guarantee was a form of repayment for the jet.
The commitment serves as protection for U.S. troops and shows “the strategic relationship between Qatar and the United States” Al-Thani said Sunday during an appearance on the CNN program hosted by Fareed Zakaria.
Besides serving as a key pillar of U.S. military infrastructure in the region, Qatar has also played a central role in negotiations between Hamas and Israel and is working alongside the U.S. to ensure a ceasefire holds.
