Qatar's Ministry of Defence (MOD) has confirmed that the country's naval and air forces were able to successfully intercept Iran-launched strikes using ballistic missiles and both manned and unmanned aircraft.
A statement issued by the MOD earlier this week said that the Qatari Emiri Navy was involved in the successful shootdown of numerous drones. However, the statement did not indicate the specific vessels or weapon systems used in the interceptions or the number of drones destroyed.
The statement confirmed that all hostile drones were intercepted before these could inflict damage on any targets within the emirate.
The Qatari Emiri Navy's ballistic missile defence-capable ships include the four Al Zubarah-class corvettes and the helicopter-capable landing platform dock (LPD) QENS Al Fulk (pictured), which is also the service's flagship and its largest vessel. All five ships were built by Italy's Fincantieri.
The corvettes and the LPD are armed with Aister surface-to-air missiles and remotely controlled automatic weapons. The latter are also capable of dealing with a range of airborne threats including small drones.
Qatar is among the Middle East Gulf states that have been targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes following the initial attacks by US and Israeli forces under Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, February 28. Al Udeid Air Base, which also hosts the forward headquarters of US Central Command, was struck by an Iranian drone earlier this week, though no casualties have been reported.