Boeing upbeat over possible Kuwait jet sale, oil price hits some deals

Boeing on Saturday gave its strongest indication yet about a near-term sale of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to Kuwait, although the world's second-largest weapons maker said lower oil prices were delaying some arms purchases by Gulf states.

"There are things that we're waiting on... those things are going to be cleared and we think they're going to be cleared soon," Boeing's Paul Oliver said in response to a question on whether discussions about a reported $3 billion F/A-18 deal with Kuwait talks were making progress.

Oliver, vice-president of international business development in the Middle East and Africa for Boeing's defense business, did not name Kuwait specifically.

The United States has not publicly acknowledged talks to sell Boeing fighters to Kuwait, but sources familiar with the matter have said it is in negotiations about selling 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to the Gulf nation in a deal valued at over $3 billion.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters they hoped it would clear final regulatory hurdles before the end of the year.

In September, Kuwait also signed a memorandum of understanding to buy 28 Eurofighter jets built by Italy’s Finmeccanica, Britain’s BAE Systems and European aerospace firm Airbus Group.