Qatar

Electric aircraft developer Beta Technologies has raised an additional $318 million through a Series C funding round led by the Qatar Investment Authority.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

The latest deals come as RTX works to close several legacy investigations of RTX’s Raytheon defense division.

Qatar and Turkey appear to have formed a joint air force unit, deepening the military ties between the two countries.

The G700 will enter commercial services with Qatar Executive in June.

Major programs have buoyed BAE Systems to a record order backlog of more than £69 billion ($87.1 billion), the company has reported.

Qatari Eurofighter Typhoons are operating with Pakistani Chengdu J-10Cs in the first military drills bringing the two canard fighter types together.

The Indonesian defense and finance ministries have decided to delay the acquisition of 12 Qatari Dassault Mirage 2000-5s due to “limited fiscal capacity.”

The Middle East region presents options for new F-15 orders, especially among the type’s existing operators in Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

AFCAC said Qatar will support African countries with “targeted technical assistance and capacity building” for their aviation sectors.

The UK Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter pilots are set to receive BAE’s Striker 2 helmet-mounted display as part of a national upgrade of the aircraft.

Prolonged storage in certain conditions can exacerbate cracking in material used in A380 wing structures, Airbus says. And the company is working to rectify it.

Qatar Airways is eying growth in Central and Eastern Europe through an agreement with Air Serbia.

The Star Alliance member started flying to Qatar’s capital in December 2020.

The expansion of service to Qatar from three Indian cities coincides with the forthcoming FIFA World Cup.

Finnair is adding Doha services where its passengers can transfer to Qatar Airways' Asia-bound flights.

The airline will go head-to-head in the market with Qatar Airways.

American has launched service between New York JFK and Doha.

The airline is growing its Saudi Arabia offering to 13 flights per day and launching a shuttle service for fans attending the forthcoming FIFA World Cup.

The carrier is seeking to take advantage of an enhanced codeshare relationship with Qatar Airways.

The agreement includes codeshares across 35 destinations in Australia for Qatar Airways passengers.

As the footballing world gathers in Qatar for the FIFA World Cup 2022 draw, the country’s international gateway is hoping the event will generate a longer-term traffic increase.

The airline plans to offer six flights per day between Doha and London following the restart of Gatwick service.

The airlines serve three common North American airports.

The carriers say passengers of each airline will gain access to a wider network.