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AIRSHOW-Kuwait says sticks to F-18 jets despite approval delays
Jan 21
Kuwait's air force is sticking to plans to purchase Boeing's F-18 Super Hornet to replace ageing fighter jets,
despite a lengthy congressional approval process in Washington that has frustrated industry players.
"The Super Hornet is one of the best solutions for us,"
Abdullah Al Foudary, commander of the Kuwait Air Force,
said on the sidelines of an industry event in Bahrain.
"We have the legacy F-18s that we have to find a solution for in 2030-2040."
U.S. industry executives and military officials have grown increasingly concerned about delays in approving the sale of 28 Boeing F/A-18E/F fighter jets to Kuwait,
a deal valued at around $3 billion.
Boeing must decide in coming weeks whether to start building the jets using its ownfunding
to ensure that materials that take years to procure are on hand when needed.
The company is likely to make that investment as a bridge to additional U.S. Navy orders expected in fiscal 2018, according to a source familiar with the issue.
The company is anxiously awaiting the release of the Pentagon's fiscal 2017 budget plan on Feb. 9 to see if the Navy orders even a few jets in fiscal 2017,
potentially through a separate war-spending supplement.
U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus last week said foreign military sales helped ensure continued production of U.S. weapons systems,
such as the Boeing F/A-18E/F fighter jet,
and also helped the U.S. military and its allies work seamlessly in joint military operations.
But Mabus called for continued efforts to accelerate
what he described as a slow and "torturous" approval process
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