The suspension was announced by a thread of five messages on the ministry’s Twitter account, @KuwaitArmyGHQ, and addressed to local Members of Parliament which had questioned the delivery of the helicopters. The problems refer to technical incidents with the engines of the first two helicopters during their ferry flights to Kuwait.
“Following the investigation of an incident that occurred during the ferry flight of an H225M for Kuwait, we can confirm there is no impact on the airworthiness of the H225M fleet in service today,” Airbus Helicopters said in a Feb. 19 text message. “We are working with our customer to provide support as required.”
This is Twitter’s English translation of the Kuwait MoD’s thread:
1. An explanation from the Ministry of Defense regarding the questions and inquiries presented by some of the Honorable Representatives in the National Assembly about the technical malfunction of the (Caracal) planes, and what two planes of this type were exposed to before they were formally received from the manufacturer.
2. The Ministry of Defense, out of its keenness on the safety of its children, pilots and workers working on this type of aircraft, in order to preserve public funds, and in interaction with these statements and questions due from the representatives, has today issued a decision to form a (specialized technical committee)
3. Its tasks are to examine all the reasons that prevented the receipt of the aircraft, and also to find a mechanism to address these causes and prevent their recurrence in the future, in addition to ensuring that all the aircraft arrive safely to the homeland and without any technical defect therein.
4. Accordingly, the Ministry confirms the suspension of its receipt of these aircraft at the present time until awaiting the results of examining the formed committee and receiving the reports of the manufacturer thereof regarding the defect to which some of these aircraft were exposed, and then taking the appropriate decision about officially receiving them from the manufacturer
5. And in light of the positive results that appear in this regard, with a statement of all the guarantees that prevent any technical malfunction in the future.
Kuwait ordered a total of 30 H225M Caracals, the French Ministry of Defence announced on August 09, 2016. The contract, worth over one billion euros including a support package, covers 24 helicopters for the Kuwaiti Air Force and six for its National Guard, and will be operated for a wide range of missions including Combat SAR.
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