Kuwait awaits Typhoons
Senior Kuwaiti military officers and Sheikh Azzam Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador to Italy, line up in front of one of the initial two Typhoon Tranche 3A aircraft being delivered to Kuwait. (Photo: KUNA)
The Kuwait Air Force has received its first pair of Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 3A aircraft from Leonardo, according to state-run news agency KUNA.
The aircraft were handed over in Italy by Leonardo before their scheduled arrival in Kuwait on 14 December.
Sheikh Azzam Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador to Italy, said at the handover ceremony: ‘Today, with this step, we are entering a new phase of cooperation and coordination between the Italian and Kuwaiti Ministries of Defense in order to establish an industrial, technical and educational base in the State of Kuwait.’
Kuwait signed a €7.96 billion ($8.8 billion) contract with Leonardo in April 2016 for 28 Tranche 3A aircraft, to include Storm Shadow, Brimstone and other air-to-surface weapons.
Additional features of the Kuwaiti aircraft include the Lockheed Martin Sniper laser designator pod, the DRS-Cubic ACMI P5 combat training pod, enhanced VOR navigation aids and the Captor E-Scan radar with antenna repositioner.
Initial deliveries were scheduled originally for 2020 but Leonardo admitted in its half-year financial results presentation in July 2020 that a delay until 2021 was likely.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 3A [Kuwait]
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
India set to sign Rafale-M deal
New Delhi gears up to sign Navy Rafale deal as talks swirl around a potential assembly line in Nagpur.
-
Lockheed Martin wants to “supercharge” F-35 after NGAD loss
The investment in technologies developed for Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft bid will now be applied to its F-35 and F-22 aircraft, according to Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet.
-
USSOCOM outlines acquisition priorities for FY2026
The service is seeking all-domain autonomous and counter-robotic solutions as well as deep sensing and assured access technologies.
-
Why SCAF and GCAP should seek common ground
Can international industrial collaboration to develop common technologies applicable to different future aircraft programmes – like GCAP or SCAF – prevail in the face of politics?
-
USAF evaluates potential E-7A upgrades
The US Air Force is assessing and identifying capability upgrades for the AEW&C aircraft, including the possible replacement of the E-7A’s MESA radar and electronic warfare self-protection system.
-
Italy boosts UAV fleet with Jump-20 procurement and ScanEagle additions
The Jump-20 uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) procurement will replace Italy’s RQ-7 Shadow UAS fleet.