Selling “previously-owned” cars is big business in the United States and doesn’t require approval from the companies producing the autos or the government—but the situation is very different when it comes to selling military hardware. Malaysia has been a tire kicker of the Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet aircraft now in service with the Kuwaiti Air Force (KAF).

The two countries have been engaged in discussions over the transfer of the legacy aircraft, with Malaysian minister of defense Mohamed Khaled Nordin even traveling to the Middle East earlier this month.

International military analyst firm Janes reported that the Kuwaiti Air Force currently operates twenty-seven F/A-18Cs and six F/A-18Ds. The aircraft were acquired from aerospace giant Boeing in 1992. Kuwait City is seeking to bolster its air force with more advanced and modern aircraft, which include twenty-eight F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and an equal number of Eurofighter Typhoons. As part of its modernization effort, the KAF has called for retiring the legacy Hornets, which Malaysia has expressed interest in acquiring.

Khaled recently visited the Ahmed Al-Jaber Air Base, the home of the KAF’s 9 Squadron to assess the “condition of some” of the Hornets.

“Malaysia and Kuwait have agreed to set up a joint committee to initiate discussions and negotiations for the … procurement of the legacy Hornet fighter aircraft,” Khaled told the Malaysian Kosmo news outlet.

He further confirmed that any pending deal would need to have approval from the United States. Timing would also be based on the arrival of the new F-18E/F Super Hornets.

Will Washington Sign-Off?

Any deal involving the F/A-18 Hornets will still need Washington’s approval, but that may be little more than a formality. As reported by The Defense Post, both Kuwait and Malaysia “are traditionally neutral nations,” while the former is designated as a major non-NATO U.S. ally.

In addition, the United States led the coalition efforts that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in the 1991 Operation Desert Storm. Kuwait is also home to several U.S. military installations including Camp Arifjan.

Boeing inked a deal with Kuwait in 2023 for the F/A-18E/F fighters, and those could have been the final Super Hornets to fly off the aerospace firm’s assembly line—but the company received an additional contract from the U.S. Navy for another block of the carrier-capable combat aircraft. That will see Super Hornet production continue through 2027.

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which is now manufactured by Boeing following its merger with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, has been produced in two distinct versions including the single-seat F/A-18/E and the dual-seat F/A-18/F. The advanced aircraft entered fleet service in 1999, as the replacement for the F-14 Tomcat.

As the final variants of the original multirole F/A-18 aircraft, the model offered a 20 percent larger airframe, while the Super Hornet could carry an additional 33 percent more internal fuel, which increased its mission range by 41 percent while its endurance was increased by 50 percent over the earlier aircraft.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

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