Three years after Qatar achieved independence from Great Britain in 1971 the Qatar Armed Forces was formed with air arm becoming the Qatari Emiri Air Force. In 2014 Qatar officially ordered 24 AH-64E Guardian Apache with the first delivery taking place ceremony taking place at the Boeing plant in Mesa, Arizona on March 14, 2019. An anticipated date for the complete delivery of the remaining 23 Apaches was May 2020. The purchase also included AGM-114R Hellfire and FIM-92H Stinger missiles. These helicopters were assigned to the U/I Fighter Wing, 2nd Rotary Wing, 41st Squadron.