Kuwait signs deal for Typhoon fighters

MUNICH, Germany, April 5 (UPI) -- Kuwait and Italy signed an agreement Tuesday for the Gulf state's procurement of 28 Typhoon combat aircraft equipped with E-Scan radar.

The Typhoon is made by Eurofighter GmbH, a holding company of BAE Systems, Airbus and Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company. It is a twin-engine multi-role fighter with a speed of 1,550 miles per hour at altitude.

"We are delighted to officially welcome the State of Kuwait as a new member of the Eurofighter family," Volker Paltzo, chief executive officer of Eurofighter said on behalf of Eurofighter partnet companies. "The confirmation of this order is further testament of the growing interest in the Eurofighter Typhoon in the Gulf Region.

"It will enable Kuwait to benefit from the critical mass being developed in the Gulf and the many advantages that it brings to an air force in terms of interoperability, training and in-service support."

Under the contract signed Tuesday, Kuwait will receive a total of 28 aircraft, 22 of them in the single-seat variant.

Kuwait will be the eighth customer in the Typhoon program and the third country in the region to fly the aircraft. Saudi Arabia ordered 72 Typhoons, of which 55 have been delivered. Oman has ordered 12.