Oman first Typhoon enters in final assembly

The first Eurofighter Typhoon for the Royal Air Force of Oman.
Under a contract signed in 2012, Oman will also take delivery of eight Hawk 166 advanced jet trainers from BAE.
BAE delivered 12 Typhoons to Saudi Arabia last year, and 6 for the UK Royal Air Force.
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Kuwait To Purchase 28 Typhoons

Kuwait has agreed to purchase 28 Typhoon combat jets in a deal with the Italian government.
Kuwait has agreed to buy 22 single seat and six twin-seat Typhoons in a government-to-government agreement.
Italian firm Finmeccanica's Alenia Aermacchi division has been leading the Eurofighter effort to sell the Typhoon to the Kuwaitis.
Kuwait could be the first export customer for the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar being developed for the jet by Italy's Selex ES.
Saudi Arabia and Oman are already Typhoon customers in the region. The Saudis have been talking about a further buy of the jets and Bahrain is also another potential customer.
The deal follows reports in May that the Kuwaitis were in discussions with the US to purchase up to 40 Boeing F/A-18 fighters.
The position on those negotiations is unknown.
defensenews

RAF Now Flying Improved Typhoon Aircraft

Typhoon fighters equipped with a package of new capabilities have entered operational service with the Royal Air Force.
BAE Systems, said Friday that the first 15 of the RAF aircraft fitted with what is known as the Phase 1 Enhancements Package (P1E) are now in service.
Separately, BAE is also working on a new set of upgrades for the jet. BAE expects to be under contract to integrate the latest version of the Brimstone ground attack missile, known as Brimstone 2, on Typhoon in the first quarter of 2015.
By next April the RAF should have received 35 of the Tranche 2 fighters upgraded with the new P1E capabilities, that will eventually see all 67 aircraft of the type in the British fleet modified.
The RAF expects to declare full operational capability in April.
The upgrade includes integration of the Paveway IV precision guided bomb, full air-to-surface integration including a Litening III targeting pod, and full integration of the IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile used by all the Typhoon operators except the UK.
Other Eurofighter partner nations will receive P1E enhancements starting in 2015.
Only Tranche 2 aircraft will receive P1E. The enhancements come as standard on Tranche 3 aircraft now being delivered to European Typhoon partners and customers like Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Brimstone 2 is expected to enter service on RAF Tornado jets next year.
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Oman retires last Jaguar strike aircraft

Oman has retired its last four operational Sepecat Jaguars, with the strike aircraft carrying out a disbandment flypast with 8 Sqn at its Thumrait air base on 6 August.
The Royal Air Force of Oman received its first Jaguars in 1977, under what was originally a 12-aircraft acquisition from the UK. A second batch of the type was ordered in 1982, and introduced from the following year.
Muscat's retirement of the Jaguar leaves the Indian air force as sole operator of the Jaguar, with 161 Sepecat Hindustan Aeronautics-supplied examples in use.
The Oman air force, which had previously expected to halt operations with its remaining Jaguars in 2012, earlier this year took delivery of its first aircraft in the USA from a follow-on order for 12 Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds. The service already has 10 of the single-seat fighters and a pair of two-seat trainers in use from a previous contract.
Oman also has also ordered 12 Eurofighter Typhoons to meet its future requirements, with these to be supplied by BAE Systems from later this decade.
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C295 ready to support Omani training

Airbus Military is displaying the 100th production example of its C295 medium transport at the show, and says the twin-engined type is ready to be delivered to future operator the Royal Air Force of Oman.
Sporting camouflage markings and the service number 901, the aircraft features in the Le Bourget Paris Air Show static display . The airlifter will be transferred to Omani ownership in Seville, Spain, immediately.
The delivery will be handed over a little bit ahead of schedule,
Royal Air Force of Oman commander said the they will train their initial pilots and loadmasters, and by the end of this year, the aircraft will be in service as a tactical transport.
Oman signed an eight-aircraft deal for the C295 in May 2012 and its aircraft will be split between the tactical transport and maritime patrol aircraft configurations. The new type will replace an aged inventory of Shorts Skyvans.
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Oman C-130H to be upgraded by ST Aerospace

ST Aerospace has secured a contract to overhaul and update Oman’s three C-130H. The first aircraft is expected in Singapore this third quarter.
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Oman to obtain 12 Typhoons, eight Hawks

BAE Systems has secured a deal for 12 Typhoon Tranche 3 fighters and eight Hawk advanced jet trainer aircraft, with deliveries to start in 2017.

Oman will be the seventh air force to operate the Typhoon, says BAE. Other operators are the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Saudi Arabia.

flightglobal, BY GREG WALDRON