American Products More Cost Effective: Kuwaiti Parliament Protests Eurofighter’s Exorbitant Price

A Kuwaiti parliamentary committee is investigating a large-scale misappropriation of state funds under a major contract to acquire Eurofighter fourth generation medium weight combat aircraft for the country’ air force. This follows the signing of a contract in 2015 valued at 8 billion euros (over $9 billion) to acquire a single squadron’s worth of the jets. With Kuwait ordering just 28 jets, this placed their cost at an exorbitant $321 million each - the most costly fighters marketed for export in the world. Kuwait has initiated criminal investigations due to suspicious of corruption. The country’s Air Force notably relied on Boeing F-18C Hornet fourth generation fighters beforehand, and has since prepared to adopt the F-18E Super Hornet as its successor. Kuwait has been able to acquire Super Hornets for a much lower cost than the European aircraft, despite their far heavier weights and many performance advantages. The decision to diversify the fleet away from reliance on the F-18E, and acquire a separate fighter class from the same generation and weight range and with the same role has been highlighted by analysts as highly suspicious.

Deals involving the Eurofighter, and its French derivative the Rafale which has its origins in the same program, have often been surrounded by major corruption scandals. Due to the state of Europe’s defence sector, the two aircraft are extremely costly despite offering a relatively limited capability - particularly when compared to the latest fighter classes from Boeing and Lockheed Martin the F-15EX and F-35A both of which are much cheaper than the European designs. The American jets are not only newer and much heavier, but are also considerably more sophisticated. The Eurofighter has fared poorly on international markets, and beyond Europe itself has not seen any sales outside the Arab gulf region, all of which are thought to be politically motivated. These include contracts with Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar - with Doha’s order in 2017 widely interpreted as a bid for political support in the face of growing Saudi political pressure. The Eurofighter saw its first flight over 25 years ago in 1994, and has had considerable issues with its availability rates in the Air Forces of Germany, Italy and Britain. Due to its lower versatility relative to the cheaper F-18E, the German Air Force is currently considering acquiring American Super Hornets despite considerable pressure from Airbus and European subcontractors to purchase the more costly indigenous aircraft.