US Air Force Budget Seeks Funding for Military Bases in Qatar, Turkey

The US Air Force is requesting millions of dollars for a squadron operations center in Qatar, construction at Incirlik airbase in Turkey, and F-35 facilities in the UK, the Defense Department’s 2018 budget request document revealed.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States wants $15 million for a Consolidated Squadron Operations Facility in Al Udeid, Qatar, the document showed, and $25.8 million to construct a dormitory on Incirlik airbase in Turkey.

The document also noted the importance of the Qatar airbase and the US Air Force 379th Expeditionary Wing stationed there.

"The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is the largest, most diverse expeditionary wing the Air Force, providing combat airpower and support for Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom's Sentinel," the budget plan explained.

The wing and associate units, the document added, operate more than 100 aircraft, "making the base a large hub for humanitarian airlift activity while providing mission essential combat power, aeromedical evacuation, airlift, air refueling, and intelligence gathering for multiple theaters of operations."

The Pentagon budget request also includes some $137 million for F-35A simulator and operations Center, according to the document.