The two new Eurofighters for the Kuwait Air Force have just been delivered.
Sporting the provisional serials M.T. 55269 and 55270, the third and fourth Eurofighter Typhoons for the Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyya al-Kuwaytiyya (Kuwait Air Force – KAF) landed at Ali al Salem Air Base, to the west of Kuwait City, on Mar. 29, 2022.
Once again, the ferry flight of the new Kuwaiti Eurofighters, that joined the first two two-seaters KT001 and KT002 (M.T.55243 and 55244), that were delivered on Dec. 14, 2021, was supported by the Italian Air Force, that arranged an “Air-to-Air Refueling trail” that involved one KC-767A tanker belonging to the 14° Stormo (Wing) from Pratica di Mare, that accompanied the two Typhoons from Caselle, near Turin, to their new home, where KAF Eurofighter OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) has been established.
As explained, 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. The first flight of the first two aircraft took place at Leonardo’s Caselle plant near Turin, northwestern Italy, on Oct. 15, 2021.
جانب من وصول الدفعة الثانية من طائرات اليوروفايتر طراز ( تايفون T 3 ) إلى أرض الوطن. pic.twitter.com/YsSbVGE76z
More from The Aviationist
— Q8EuroFighter (@Q8EuroFighter) March 31, 2022
On Feb. 25 and 26, 2022, the first two Typhoons were among the highlights of the National Day and Liberation Day, the most important Kuwaiti holidays, that commemorate the nation’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1961 and the liberation from the Iraqi occupation in 1991, taking part in the military parade flying in formation with three F/A-18 Hornets fighter jets and also with a KC-130J tanker, before completing the parade with some solo flybys at low altitude.
“The Eurofighter Kuwait Programme is part of a wider and deeper collaboration between the Italian Air Force and the Kuwait Air Force, spanning over operations, pilots training and support”, says Leonardo in a public release. “The Italian Air Force is ensuring, in Italy, the initial training of the engineers and technicians who will support the Typhoon fleet activity in Country. Leonardo also plays a key role in the evolution of the Eurofighter thanks to the new AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar that equips the Eurofighter Typhoons for Kuwait, which increases the aircraft’s performance and competitiveness.”
In fact, the Italian Air Force provides training of Kuwaiti cadet pilots for the attainment of their military pilots’ license; the advanced training for the latter’s operational conversion on the Eurofighter at the type OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) of the 20° Gruppo (Squadron) of the 4° Stormo at Grosseto, and the training of aircraft maintainers for the same aircraft.
