State Dept Approves Possible $259M King Air® 350ER Sale to Kuwait

The U.S. Department of State announced this week they have approved a potential $259 million foreign military sales transaction for Kuwait to purchase four Beechcraft King Air® 350ER Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.

“The proposed sale will enable Kuwait to gather its own airborne ISR data. This capability will improve Kuwait’s situational awareness, armed forces posture, and armed forces capability to respond to threats,” noted the release.

The King Air® 350ER will be outfitted with PT6A-67A engines, four AN/AAQ-35 WESCAM MX-15HDi Electro-Optical & Infrared Imaging Sensor Turrets, four Selex Seaspray 7500E Active Electronically Scanned Array Radars (AESA); AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning Systems, and AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispenser Systems.

Sierra Nevada will be the principle contractor, well known for their King Air® ISR install capacities (previous projects included work for the Royal Canadian Air Force and Saudi Arabia).

Additionally, Kuwait has requested identification friend or foe systems, precision navigation equipment, ground data processing platforms, test equipment, repair parts, facility design and construction, simulators, training tools, logistics, technical and engineering support services.

Kuwait plans to use the aircraft to gather  aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data and increase its military posture and situational awareness capability.

One of the four planes will have modifications to accommodate medical evacuations, command-and-control missions, transportation of leadership personnel, etc.