The first two Eurofighter Typhoons, part of a larger order of 28 aircraft, destined for the country's Air Force, landed today in Kuwait. The Eurofighter Typhoon for the Kuwait Air Force is an aircraft featuring a wide range of operational capabilities, built by Leonardo based on the specific needs of the Kuwaiti Air Force.
Leonardo with its activities achieves about 36% of the value of the entire program with a key role in the aeronautical component and in that of on-board electronics. Leonardo is also the protagonist of the new AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) electronic scanning radar that characterizes the Eurofighters ordered by Kuwait, increasing their performance and competitiveness.
“An excellent operation for Italy, it is the demonstration of the success of the products of the national industry abroad and represents an important step for the consolidation of the position of the Italian industry in the world. Defense is a stimulus for the development of innovative and increasingly technologically advanced products "is what the Minister of Defense Lorenzo Guerini declared today after the delivery in Kuwait of the first two Eurofighter Typhoons, which are part of a larger order of 28 airplanes, destined for the country's Air Force. The delivery of these first two airplanes takes place in a particularly significant year for both countries, in fact 2021 is the year of the 60th anniversary of Italian-Kuwaiti relations.
Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo's CEO, said: “The Eurofighter Typhoons we built for the Kuwait Air Force are the most advanced ever produced in the history of the European program. We will equip the country with an important air defense capability and, in synergy with the Italian Air Force, we have trained their pilots in our training centers in Italy by building state-of-the-art infrastructure in Kuwait to host and maintain a fleet of 28 aircraft. The milestone that we are celebrating today is the result of a fruitful collaboration between the two countries, which has seen institutions, armed forces and industry working in synergy ".
The transfer flight of the first two Kuwaiti aircraft was in fact made possible thanks to the support of the Italian Air Force which guaranteed the "Air to Air Refueling trail" through a complex operational activity, which involved the use of two KC-767 tankers. of the 14 ° Stormo of Pratica di Mare and of two Eurofighters of the 4 ° Stormo Caccia of Grosseto, who escorted the pair of aircraft of the Kuwait Air Force.
There are several international cooperation programs already launched between the Italian Armed Force and Kuwait, aimed in particular at the training and training of personnel at the Air Force facilities. In particular, the training of Kuwaiti pilot students for the achievement of the military pilot license and the subsequent advanced training preparatory to the operational conversion of the pilots on the Eurofighter fighter at the 20 ° Group of the 4 ° Stormo of Grosseto and the training of the aircraft maintainers of the same line. In addition, some Air Force instructors, together with Leonardo's test pilots, will support the initial training of the Kuwait Air Force pilots and the growth of the OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) at the Al Salem base.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is an aircraft born with a well-defined technological updating and improvement program, which guarantees its competitiveness throughout its life cycle. Constantly evolving technologies, both on board the aircraft and in the logistical support, increase its operational effectiveness, survival skills and management economy. The Eurofighter program is the cornerstone of European aerospace and defense technology and as such provides the industries involved with a technological leadership that will guarantee competitiveness in numerous future next generation programs.
The Eurofighter program is managed by the Eurofighter GmbH consortium, a company based in Munich (Germany) owned by Leonardo, BAE Systems and Airbus Defense & Space for Germany and Spain. On the government side, it is managed by the NATO Eurofighter & Tornado Management Agency (NETMA), set up to meet the procurement needs of the Air Forces of the four participating countries: Italy, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. In addition to the four partner countries, which have already ordered 510 Typhoons, international customers now include Saudi Arabia (72 aircraft), Austria (15), Oman (12), Kuwait (28) and Qatar (24), for a total of 661 ordered planes.
In terms of employment, the Eurofighter program involves more than 100 people in Europe, of which over 20 in Italy, between direct, indirect and induced employment. Over 400 suppliers work in production for the Typhoon, of which 200 in Italy.
