ROME -- The Italian industrial group Finmeccanica have succeeded in gaining themselves an eight-billion euro contract in Kuwait.  They will be selling 28 Eurofighter Tycoon aircraft to the Kuwaitis, which will be built in Italy itself, with most of the project being carried out in Piedmont.  There will also be important contributions towards various parts of the machines from Lombardy, Campania and Apulia.

 As Mauro Moretti, the delegated leader of the project, points out, it will also be “a success for the country.”  Yet, first and foremost, this is a historic moment for the group, as it is by far their biggest sale to date.  The Kuwaiti Eurofighters will be state of the art, with the latest technology and equipped with the innovative E-Scan Radar.

 Whilst the figures are not yet official, they seem to be confirmed as Moretti has signed a contract, which will last at least 20 years and will bring in four billion euros for the group.  It’s safe to say that on top of the contract there will be an increase of at least 50 percent from the contract quota to share with Bae Systems and Airbus (the German and Spanish branches of the company), to reach a total of eight billion.

 The contact will also bring with it other advantages in terms of the visibility of the group, especially as it brings with it almost 30 percent of their common total income from commissions, as shown by their March report.  Their total orders is usually around 12.4 billion, on top of which we need to add this extra four billion.  According to analists, the impact on their yearly accounts could be around 500 million dollars.

 Looking at the details, other that the provision of the fighter jets, the contract also calls for the training of the Kuwaiti pilots.  For this they are collaborating with the Airforce, who are already in the field at Galatina, near Lecce.  Another part of the contract is also the training in the sectors of logistics and infrastructure upgrade in Kuwait, which is absolutely vital for the aircraft to function – such as airports and operation centres.

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