Kuwait received fighters with E-scan radars, IRIS-T, and Mk bombs

By TOC

KUWAIT CITY, ($1=0.30 Kuwaiti Dinars) – After several years of difficulties in which the customer questioned the high price of the purchase, the Italian company Leonardo [partner with Airbus and BAE Systems of Eurofighter] delivered the first two fighters of the 28, which Kuwait ordered in early 2016, learned BulgarianMilitary.com, citing InfoDefensa.

Saudi Arabia Is Closer to Finalizing Another Deal for BAE’s Typhoon Jets

The planes, which were officially delivered to Italy’s Caselle airbase near Turin, were delivered to their final destination this week, using two KC-767 refueling planes from the Italian Air Force.

With 22 single and six double Eurofighters ordered, Kuwait will replace its current fleet of 39 F-18A / B Hornet fighters in the country’s air force.

In June 2020, it turned out that the Standing Committee of the Kuwaiti Parliament had discovered possible irregularities in the state funds used to purchase aircraft. The cost of € 290 million per unit, to be paid at a total cost of € 8 billion, seemed too high compared to the acquisitions of the same fighter from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, according to the commission’s investigation.

The 24 Eurofighters commissioned by Qatar received an exchange rate of just under 5.5 billion euros [229 million per aircraft], while the 72 aircraft contracted by Saudi Arabia were ordered for less than 8.9 billion EUR [124 million per aircraft].

In the case of an agreement with Kuwait, the operation includes, in addition to the aircraft, the supply of equipment and related devices, as well as the improvement of the airbase that will receive the aircraft. The weapons included in the purchase include the IRIS-T and AIM-120C7 Amraam missiles and the Mk 82, Mk 83, and Mk 84 free-fall bombs.

The most advanced in the world

At the time of signing the contract, almost six years ago, it turned out that the Kuwaiti Eurofighters will be the first to equip E-scan AESA radar, a development that is considered essential for the success of the aircraft in international markets. Thus, the Kuwaiti Eurofighters are the most modern of those produced so far.

Eurofighter Typhoon is manufactured by a multinational company based in Munich [Germany] Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug. The company is owned by 46 percent of the Airbus Group, 33 percent of the British BAE Systems, and 21 percent of Alenia Aermacchi. Its development is the largest military acquisition program in Europe. It involves about 100,000 workers belonging to about four hundred companies.

In addition to the four partner countries that have already ordered 510 Typhoons, Eurofigher’s international customers are Saudi Arabia [it has ordered 72 aircraft], Austria [15], Oman [12], Kuwait [28], and Qatar [24]. Thus, the acquired aircraft number 661 units.

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