MILAN (Reuters) - Italian defence company Finmeccanica (MI:SIFI) signed a long-delayed contract with Kuwait for 28 Eurofighter jets on Tuesday, a company statement said.
A memorandum of understanding for the multi-billion jet deal was signed in September but the closing of the deal had been repeatedly postponed.
"The contract... includes logistics, operational support and the training of flight crews and ground personnel, which will be carried out in cooperation with the Italian Air Force...(it) also provides for the upgrade of ground-based infrastructure in Kuwait which will be used for Typhoon operations," the statement said.
The statement issued by Finmeccanica did not give the value of the deal, estimated to be worth between 7 billion and 8 billion euros (6 billion-7 billion pounds), with Finmeccanica's share seen at roughly half of the total.
The rest is in the hands of a group of companies in the Eurofighter consortium, including planemaker Airbus (PA:AIR) and Britain's BAE Systems (L:BAES).
"This is Finmeccanica's largest ever commercial achievement", Chief Executive Mauro Moretti said in the statement.