Inaugural flight, at Leonardo's Flight Test Center in Turin-Caselle, of the first Eurofighter fighter in the Instrumented Series Production Aircraft (ISPA 6) configuration developed for the Kuwait Air Force.
The aircraft is the first to take off with the innovative Captor E electronic scanning radar and with updates of the Phase Enhancement P3Eb standard. It is the most advanced variant of the Eurofighter ever made, equipped with capabilities developed through the effective implementation of various modernization programs.
This flight test represents an important step towards the entry into service of hunting in Kuwait.
On April 5, 2016, the Ministry of Defense of Kuwait and Leonardo, through the Aircraft Division as prime contractor for the Eurofighter consortium, had signed a contract for the supply of 28 Typhoon multirole fighters.
With Captor E radar and some additions to the weapon system, this variant of the aircraft, which is scheduled to enter service in 2020, will put the Kuwait Air Force at the forefront of the field of combat aircraft.
While other aircraft of Eurofighter consortium partners are conducting further tests on specific components of this configuration, including electronic scanning radar in the UK and Germany, today's flight represents the debut for the complete configuration that will be delivered to Kuwait.
Aircraft equipment for Kuwait also includes the integration of Storm Shadow and Brimstone and other air-to-surface missiles. It is also planned to integrate a new and advanced laser designation pod (Lockheed Martin's Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod) which will increase the range of equipment of this type for the Eurofighter. Also included is the DRS-Cubic ACMI P5 combat training pod and advanced navigation assistance systems (VOR).
Learn more about the Eurofighter aircraft
With 623 aircraft ordered to date, the Eurofighter Typhoon is the most advanced multirole fighter aircraft available on the world market today and can be used to cover the broad spectrum of air operations including air police, support for peace operations and in contexts with high operational intensity.