Kuwait signs contract for 28 Eurofighter Typhoons

Kuwait signed a long-delayed contract for 28 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft with Italian defence company Finmeccanica on Tuesday.

The contract follows the announcement of an agreement between the Kuwaiti and the Italian governments for the aircraft on September 11, 2015.

Under the deal, Kuwait will receive 22 single-seat and six twin-seat aircraft. They will be of Tranche 3 standard and will be equipped with the E-Scan radar, a statement said.

The front fuselage, vertical tail and other detail manufacturing work will be undertaken by BAE Systems in the United Kingdom.

Final assembly of the aircraft will take place in Italy by Finmeccanica.

Kuwait is the third customer in the Gulf region for the Eurofighter after Saudi Arabia and Oman. Globally, it is the eighth country to operate the aircraft.

Eurofighter chief executive officer Volker Paltzo said: “The confirmation of this order is further testament of the growing interest in the Eurofighter Typhoon in the Gulf region.

“It will enable Kuwait to benefit from the critical mass being developed in the Gulf and the many advantages that it brings to an Air Force in terms of interoperability, training and in-service support.”

The very first Eurofighter Typhoon was delivered at the end of 2003, and since then over 470 aircraft have been delivered to six nations including Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Austria and Saudi Arabia.

The Kuwait order follows an order by Oman in December 2012 for 12 aircraft. In February, BAE confirmed that it had started the final assembly of the first Eurofighter for the Gulf state.

Eurofighter Typhoon is currently in service at 22 operational units and to date, the fleet has completed more than 330,000 flying hours worldwide.