Qatar's defence chief Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and his British counterpart Michael Fallon signed a "statement of intent" for the UK to sell the planes, according to statements released by London and on social media.

"This will be the first major defence contract with Qatar, one of the UK's strategic partners," Fallon said. "This is an important moment in our defence relationship and the basis for even closer defence cooperation between our two countries.
"We also hope that this will help enhance security within the region across all Gulf allies." 
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a joint project between British defence group BAE Systems, France's Airbus, and Italy's Finmeccanica.
The British ambassador to Qatar, Ajay Sharma, said on Twitter the deal is a "major step" in defence relations between the countries. The development was also confirmed by the official Qatar News Agency on Sunday.