KAF takes delivery of its first 2 Eurofighter Typhoons

The first two of 28 Eurofighters ordered by Kuwait air force (KAF) have been delivered to the Gulf state, Italy’s Leonardo announced on Tuesday.

The two aircraft flew from Italy, where they were assembled, with refueling escort provided by two Italian air force KC-767 tankers while two Italian Eurofighters also provided escort.

Leonardo said Kuwait pilots were training at the Italian Air Force’s 4th Squadron at Grosseto in central Italy, while Leonardo test pilots and instructors from the Italian air service will support the initial training of Kuwaiti pilots and the OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) at Al Salem base in Kuwait.

Italy has managed the sale of Eurofighters to Kuwait and test-flown the new electronically scanned radars mounted on the aircraft.

The 28 Typhoons (22 single-seat and 6 two-seat) were acquired by Kuwait in 2016 under a contract valued at $8.7 billion. This also contemplates the training of pilots and ground personnel by the Italian Air Force and Leonardo, as well as logistics and an initial operational support package for 3 years.

When they enter service, the KAF fighters will be the most advanced Eurofighters in the world, because they will come integrated with the new standard Phase 3 Enhancements Package b (P3Eb), and will be the first to be equipped with the initial production version of the Captor E AESA (or ECRS Mk 0) radar.

“The Eurofighter Typhoons we have developed and produced for the Kuwait Air Force are the most advanced in the whole history of the European program,” said Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo.