Kuwait plans
to buy 28 Boeing F-18 Super Hornets, a military official said on Monday, 10
days after the U.S. State Department notified Congress of the possible sale of
40 of
the warplanes to the Gulf Arab state.
Major General
Lafi al-Azmi, chief of the military's Armament and Procurement Authority, also
said Kuwait planned to return a number of outdated F-18s in its inventory as
part of the purchase deal, the official Kuwait News Agency reported.
He added that
details of the sale would only be disclosed after it is officially signed.
"Given
Kuwait's proximity to turbulent locations, we certainly need effective military
equipment," he was quoted as saying, in apparent reference to wars in Iraq
and Syria.
The fighter
aircraft are increasingly important to Kuwait amid rising regional tensions
between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose struggle for regional pre-dominance
underpins wars and political tensions across the Middle East. Kuwait, an ally
of Saudi Arabia, is also part of a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Boeing,
Northrop Grumman Corp, Raytheon Co and General Electric Co are the prime
contractors for the proposed sale.
Reuters
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