Thursday February 21, 2008

Lockheed aims to sell 500 F-35's in Asia Pacific

money.cnn.com :

Lockheed Martin aims to sell about 500 F-35 [Lightning II] aircraft to governments in the Asia-Pacific region during the life of the stealth fighter's production program, an executive said Tuesday [19 Feb 2008]. "I think 500 is about right, plus or minus 50," Vice President for F-35 Business Development George Standridge told Dow Jones Newswires at Singapore Airshow 2008.

He said Lockheed Martin is in talks with four likely buyers, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Singapore. The sales target suggests revenue from the Asia-Pacific region exceeding $20 billion, as initial orders from the U.S. government were priced at $45 million per plane in 2002. The potential sales come in addition to over 2,000 aircraft due for delivery by 2025 to the U.S. military and eight other countries participating in the F-35 program. The US Air Force is expected to take delivery of the first F-25 in 2010, with the UK, another program partner, receiving the first international order in 2011. Countries outside of the F-35 program may receive aircraft as early as 2014. Lockheed will focus on countries that are positioned to upgrade to the "fifth generation" aircraft from models such as the F-16, F-18, or the Harrier.

- The revenue from the 500 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) units should be much higher than $20 billion. The stated price tag of $45 million per plane is clearly an outdated figure - Wikipedia has a price figure of $50-60 million for the F-35, so the tally would probably be more like $30 billion.

Not to forget that inflation often hits defence spending too, through a combination of various factors, so the final figure remains to be seen.

See also :

1. Lockheed to sell F-16's to India (and also to Pakistan)
2. Twice the jet fighters

(2008-02-21 09:44:02 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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