Kuwait to buy $3 billion F/A-18 Boeing fighter jets

Middle East, News, US May 7, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Kuwait plans to order 28 Super Hornet advanced fighter jets worth $3 billion from American aircraft manufacturing company, Boeing.

Boeing could be the latest international aircraft-maker to garner a deal for more fighter aircraft, with word that the US government is nearing agreement to sell up to 40 F/A-18 E and F Super Hornet strike fighters to Kuwait.

The deal, first reported Wednesday by Reuters, has yet to be officially announced by either the US or Kuwait, but officials in Washington have confirmed an agreement is close.

The order for the F/A-18E/F multirole aircraft marks an important victory for Boeing over European rivals, which had been pitching the Eurofighter Typhoon to the Gulf country.

“We defer to the US government for any details on foreign military sales,” said Boeing spokeswoman, Caroline Hutcheson.

The prospective sales would be of great help to the American company whose F/A-18 assembly line in St. Louis, Missouri, is on the verge of shutdown due to lack of orders.

“A near-term international order, along with Congressional funding for twelve US Navy Super Hornets this year, would allow the company to continue delivering aircraft without a break in the production line,” Hutcheson said.

The deal is expected to be finalized next week when leaders of the six Arab member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar – are scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama in Washington.

Kuwait currently operates a fleet of earlier-generation F/A-18 Hornets in its air force.

The move would beef up Kuwait’s air force, as the country takes part in the Saudi-led coalition attacking Huthi rebels in Yemen.

Any deal will would require approval from the US Congress, but it’s unlikely a proposed sale to Kuwait, a staunch US ally in the Persian Gulf, would meet serious opposition.

If confirmed, Kuwait would become the second international customer for the Super Hornet, after Australia. The Royal Australian Air Force operates 24 F/A-18Fs, and is set to take initial delivery this summer of the first of 12 EA-18G Growlers.

The Boeing aircraft is in competition with European rivals in potential deals in Denmark, Canada, Malaysia and Belgium.

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