Leonardo and its partner companies have commenced the production of Eurofighter Typhoon for the Kuwait Air Force.
A total of 28 Typhoon jets will be supplied to the State of Kuwait as part of a contract signed in 2016.
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Leonardo Aircraft Division Eurofighter Programme Unit vice-president Giancarlo Mezzanatto said: “Production activities started in the second half of 2016 and are currently in line with the baseline plan and, in some cases, ahead of schedule.”
The aircraft is being equipped with Captor-E E-Scan radar, Lockheed Martin’s new Sniper advanced laser designator pod and DRS-Cubic ACMI P5 combat training pod.
It will also feature Storm Shadow and Brimstone missiles, as well as other air-to-surface weapons.
Production of wing skins of the first left-hand wing and right-hand wing has already completed at Leonardo and Airbus Defence and Space in Spain respectively, with plans to begin the assembly phase by the end of this year.
The first rear fuselage section is expected to begin the ‘Stage 2’ assembly phase at Leonardo in early-2018, while the “Stage 1” assembly phase is already running in BAE Systems for the first five aircraft.
The Airbus Defence and Space-built centre fuselage section will start the assembly in the first half of 2018.
Commenting on the Typhoon’s capabilities, Mezzanatto added: “These features enrich the multi-role characteristics of the aircraft and enhance the weapon system in a role in which the aircraft is excelling since 2011 with the operations over Libya and now Syria and Iraq.”
