MILAN, April 5 (Reuters) - Italian defence companyFinmeccanica signed a long-delayed contract withKuwait for 28 Eurofighter jets on Tuesday, a company statementsaid.
A memorandum of understanding for the multi-billion jet dealwas signed in September but the closing of the deal had beenrepeatedly postponed.
"The contract... includes logistics, operational supportand the training of flight crews and ground personnel, whichwill be carried out in cooperation with the Italian AirForce...(it) also provides for the upgrade of ground-basedinfrastructure in Kuwait which will be used for Typhoonoperations," the statement said.
The statement issued by Finmeccanica did not give the valueof the deal, estimated to be worth between 7 billion and 8billion euros ($8 billion-$9.1 billion), with Finmeccanica'sshare seen at roughly half of the total.
The rest is in the hands of a group of companies in theEurofighter consortium, including planemaker Airbus andBritain's BAE Systems.
"This is Finmeccanica's largest ever commercialachievement", Chief Executive Mauro Moretti said in thestatement.
($1 = 0.8788 euros) (Reporting by Giulia Segreti)