The first two aircraft took part in a series of flypasts over the capital with other aircraft of the Kuwait Air Force.
Kuwait celebrated on Feb. 25 and 26, 2022, its National Day and Liberation Day, which are the most important Kuwaiti holidays that commemorate every year the nation’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1961 and the liberation from the Iraqi occupation in 1991, respectively. Among the celebrations, a military parade with aircraft and vehicles took place in the capital.
Duringg the flypast over the Kuwait Towers and the Gulf streets, the Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyya al-Kuwaytiyya (Kuwait Air Force) showcased for the first time to the crowds its recently delivered Eurofighter Typhoons. The first two aircraft, the two-seaters KT001 and KT002, out of a total of 28 Typhoons ordered by Kuwait were delivered on Dec. 14, 2021.
As shown by photos and videos, the two Typhoons performed several flypasts over the city, first in formation with three F/A-18 Hornets fighter jets and later with a KC-130J tanker, before completing the parade with some solo flybys at low altitude. As you may recall, we also posted on our social medias pages some pretty cool videos of the flypast recorded from inside the Typhoons’ cockpit.
Take a seat in a Kuwait Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon taking part in the celebrations for Kuwait National Day. For some background about the Kuwait Air Force Typhoons 🇰🇼 read here: https://t.co/1MyXwh50it pic.twitter.com/6AvgSPJq0d
— The Aviationist (@TheAviationist) February 25, 2022
Kuwait Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons and F/A-18C Hornets flying together for Kuwait 🇰🇼 National Day. Love the paint scheme on the Legacy Hornets! pic.twitter.com/OrG48FlfFN
— The Aviationist (@TheAviationist) February 25, 2022
The first two Eurofighter Typhoon jets destined to Kuwait made their first flight at Leonardo’s Caselle plant near Turin, northwestern Italy, on Oct. 15, 2021. Back then, the aircraft already sported the flag of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti Air Force insignia and a medium grey paint scheme that, under certain lighting conditions, seems quite similar to the one of the German Air Force Typhoons.
Kuwait is set to receive 28 Typhoons: 22 single-seater and 6 twin-seats. The Typhoons will be equipped with the first variant of the Captor E AESA radar, the ECRS Mk 0, together with P3Eb (Phase 3 Enhancements Package b) multi-role features and the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, in what is considered the most advanced Typhoon ever produced. This specific configuration was developed and tested in Italy using the Typhoon ISPA 6 (Instrumented Series Production Aircraft).
The contract for the 28, worth around 8 billion euros (9B USD) in total, aircraft was inked in April 2016 after a first MoU had been signed in September 2015. Kuwait is the eight Eurofighter operator, after Austria, Italy, Germany, Spain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UK. Deliveries were initially set to be completed in 2023 but right now it’s not clear whether the plan is still the initial one.
After the delivery of the first two jets last year, Kuwait referred two senior army officers over suspected corruption related to the contract. At that time Leonardo said it was not the subject of a judicial investigation into the Kuwait Eurofighter programme, with a source from the company stating to Reuters that two jets to Kuwait around mid-March in a sign that contract is progressing according to plans.
— Q8EuroFighter (@Q8EuroFighter) February 25, 2022
The Kuwaiti Air Force has been flying with an F/A-18C/D single-type frontline since the retirement of Mirage F1Ks and A-4KUs Skyhawks after the Gulf War. However, it will soon return to a two-type frontline with an order also for 28 Super Hornets, order in 2018, with the same mix of single and two-seaters: 22 F/A-18Es and 6 F/A-18Fs.
