On 27 June 2018, Boeing has won a foreign military sales contract to supply 22 F/A-18E and six F/A-18F Super Hornets to the Kuwait Air Force, the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) announced.
According to DoD, the Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $1,504,995,240 fixed-price-incentive-firm contract that provides for the production and delivery of 22 F/A-18E and six F/A-18F Super Hornets in support of the government of Kuwait.
The future Kuwaiti Air Force (KAF) aircraft are expected to be completed in January 2021.
The combat-proven Super Hornet has the capability, flexibility and performance necessary to modernize the air or naval aviation forces of any country. Two versions of the Super Hornet – the single-seat E model and the two-seat F model – are able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, including air superiority, day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions.
According to the Defense News, the U.S. State Department approved the Super Hornet sale to Kuwait in November 2016. At the time, Kuwait was considering a purchase of up to 40 aircraft to replace its current fleet of legacy Hornets, and the department estimated the sale could rack up a value of up to $10.1 billion.