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PARIS, April 26 (UPI) -- Qatar's navy is set to purchase a batch of Exocet surface-to-surface missiles to beef up equipment of its Vita-class patrol boats.
No details of the purchase were announced, including the expected price the emirate will pay to upgrade its fleet.
Qatar's navy presently relies on seven French and British fast attack craft equipped with earlier version of Exocet missiles. The latest procurement, however, features an upgraded model -- the MM Block 3 missiles -- that replaces rocket fuel with turbojet propulsion. That extends the missiles' range capabilities and adds Global Positioning System-like targeting.
The new missiles will add to a weapons suite that includes 76mm guns, Mistral surface-to-air missiles and the rapid-fire 30mm Goalkeeper weapon system, the Defense News Web site reported.
"The missile development project is in line with our development plan to update the Qatari Emiri naval forces," said Staff Brig. Mohammed Bin Nasser Al Mohannadi, commander of the Qatari navy.
"It is an integrated project that includes training officers and other navy personnel to deal with modernized missile systems, the development of missile launched systems and updating with the latest technology in the field," he was quoted saying by local media.
Qatar is near the midpoint of the western edge of the Persian Gulf, on which small and fast armed ships are particularly effective. It maintains a modest military force of about 12,000 personnel, including an army, navy and air force.
The emirate holds close defense ties with Iran, with which it signed a pact this year, promising to "expand" such relations.
Qatar hosts one of the largest U.S. bases in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base but it has rejected U.N. Security Council resolutions against Iran for its nuclear program. It has publicly supported Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology.
Its courting of Iran, however, has sparked controversy within the Arab world, which has been increasingly wooed by Tehran in hope of extending its influence. Qatar is the second state after Syria to defy the Arab world's calls for a "united front" against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Since entering service in 1972, MBDA, a European missile company, has supplied more than 3,500 Exocet missiles to more than 35 countries, a company announcement said.
The MM40 Block3 has been ordered by the French navy and will equip its variant of the Franco-Italian FREMM frigate.
The first operational firing of the MM40 Block 3 took place in March from a warship in France. It wasn't immediately clear how soon Qatar would take delivery of the new missiles.
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