Mesa Boeing part of $1.16 billion Super Hornet aircraft sale to Kuwait
Apr 6, 2018, 4:10 AM
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — The Boeing plant in Mesa is part of a $1.16 billion contract to sell 28 Super Hornets to Kuwait, according to a Pentagon announcement on Friday.
Mesa will contribute to the construction of 22 single-seat E variants and six two-seat F variants with 13 other Boeing facilities around the country, according to USNI News.
The contract also includes the sale of long-lead radar warning receivers and aircraft armament equipment.
The Mesa plant employs about 3,700 people, according to Boeing. It is one of the largest Apache helicopter suppliers within Boeing, delivering the planes since 1984.
Kuwait, a small country on the Persian Gulf, borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
“(The) sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a ajor Non-NATO ally that has been, and continues to be, an important force for political and economic progress in the Middle East,” a Defense Security Cooperation Agency press release announcing the proposed sale in 2016 stated.
The United States and Kuwait have a long history of military cooperation. In 1991, the U.S. helped rid the country of Iraq forces, according to the U.S. Department of State website.
In 2003, Kuwait “provided the main platform” for the Iraq War, the site stated, and helped the U.S. remove troops in 2011.
