Kuwait Buys AH-64 CLS

The US Army awarded DynCorp a contract to support the AH-64 Apache attack helicopters operated by Kuwait. MarketWatch has the press release here. The CLS contract is worth $11 M in the first year. Kuwait purchased a small number of these advanced aircraft through the US Army. DynCorp has other contracts with both the US and Kuwait governments to perform this type of work on other aircraft. Use of CLS, especially for non-combat systems, has been growing in the US and UK as it is considered cheaper as you do not have the associated personnel and training costs of using service personnel. Of course, CLS in support of FMS systems is also common as it is the simplest way for the nations to get the support they need for advanced weapons.