Paris - Kuwait is waiting to get an offer from France on Rafale strike fighters, Defence Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Hamad al-Sabah said Oct. 21 after a meeting with his French counterpart, Hervé Morin.
Kuwait would "be proud to have the Rafale in the heart of our armed forces," he said at a news conference on the signing of a defense cooperation agreement with France, the French Defense Ministry reported on its Web site.
"We hope to have an offer soon on this subject," Sheikh Jaber said. The offer would be studied very seriously by the Kuwaiti Air Force, he added.
Kuwait was also interested in French military technology for the Navy, air defense systems and helicopters, he said.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said in February that talks with Kuwait on the prospective sale of 12-14 Rafale aircraft were "quite advanced."
The strategic defense agreement between France and Kuwait covers exchange of information, assistance, training and equipment, and extends a previous accord signed Aug. 18, 1992.
France opened a naval base in Abu Dhabi this year and is in talks with the United Arab Emirates on the sale of 60 Rafales, built by Dassault Aviation. The UAE, however, wants France to help find a buyer for its fleet of Mirage 2000-9 fighters.
The Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program is ready to test a few components that soldiers may have in their hands by 2010.
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