Qatar will spend an increased amount of IFV and tanks over the next decade. Credit: Boule via Shutterstock.

Qatar’s annual expenditure on infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and main battle tanks (MBT) is expected to increase through to 2034 as the country continues an extensive, and expensive, modernisation programme across land, sea, and air domains.

According to GlobalData’s Qatar Defense Market Data 2024-2034 report, the small Gulf state, which shares a land border with Saudi Arabia, has the world’s third largest known resources of natural gas. Qatar has only just normalised relations with Saudi Arabia after the latter’s economic embargo, which began in 2017, was lifted in 2021.

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Armoured capability is a desired capability for Qatar, despite it having a small land area of just 11,571km², or around half the size of Wales.

Data from GlobalData’s Qatar defence market report indicates expenditure on IFVs will increase from $134m in 2024 to $215m by 2034 while MBT expenditure will rise from $73m in 2024 to $127m over the next decade.

Qatar operates a fleet of 62 Leopard 2A7+ MBTs, acquired between 2015 and 2020 from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, and 38 Piranha V IFVs, manufactured and delivered by General Dynamics Land Systems between 1997 and 1999.

At the DIMDEX 2024 defence exhibition and conference in Qatar, French OEM Nexter stated that it was willing to offer the VBCI MkII as a new IFV solution for the country as it looks to modernise its IFV fleet.

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Qatar: the overall defence picture

Overall, Qatari military expenditure stands at $14.4bn in 2024 and the country’s acquisition budget is anticipated to increase from $4.4bn in 2025 to $5.6bn in 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6% during the forecast period. The Qatar Defence Ministry is anticipated to procure multi-role aircraft, armoured vehicles, naval vessels, and main battle tanks, among other equipment.

In addition, the country has constructed a new naval base south of Doha, which was inaugurated in 2019 and is in the process of doubling its naval force from 3,000 to 7,000 by 2025.