Boeing was offering demonstration flights of its V-22 Osprey, which flies like a plane but takes off and lands like a helicopter. It also reported continued interest in its F-15 and F/A-18 fighter jets, mainly from buyers in the Middle East.
“We don’t see any downturn on the defense side in terms of engagement by our customers,” said Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft.
U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Greg Masiello, program manager for the V-22, told reporters that the first foreign order for the V-22 could come within the next year.
Israel, Japan and the United Arab Emirates are among countries looking at possible purchases of the V-22, which captured a great deal of interest at the Dubai Air Show in November 2011, Boeing officials say.
Dennis Muilenburg, head of Boeing’s defense division, said international sales accounted for 24 percent of the division’s revenues in 2011, and were on track to reach 25 percent to 30 percent as early as next year, a bit ahead of plan.
He said Boeing could accommodate the first international sales of its KC-46A refueling tanker as early as 2018.
Lockheed Martin Corp, maker of the F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, is aiming to boost its international sales to 20 percent of company revenue from 17 percent now.
The company’s radar-evading F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is competing with Boeing’s F-15 and Europe’s Typhoon, built by Finmeccanica Spa, Britain’s BAE Systems Plc, and European defense group EADS, for a huge 60-plane order from South Korea that may be awarded by year’s end.
Sikorsky Aircraft, the helicopter maker owned by United Technologies Corp, on Sunday told Reuters that it has a large backlog of international orders and sees opportunities for growth in countries like Brazil, India, Turkey, China and Mexico.
Increased overseas sales and growing demands from buying countries are resulting in increasingly complex offset agreements with foreign countries, but many U.S. companies do not keep a strategic eye on such deals, according to a new study by the Avascent consulting group.