Boeing looks to capitalise on F-35 woes

Flight Global ^ | 7/9/2010 | Leithen Francis

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Boeing anticipates that changes announced recently to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme will inadvertently help its overseas campaigns for fighters.

If the JSF programme slips it will affect the overseas partners in the programme "and that gives us tremendous opportunity to go in there, particularly with the Super Hornet", says Boeing Integrated Defense Systems vice-president international business development Mark Kronenberg. He says five years ago F-35 programme partners Canada and Denmark would "have been rock solid", but now there is an opportunity for Boeing to talk to them and focus on aspects such as the price and proven capability of Boeing's aircraft. Canada and Denmark are manufacturing partners in the F-35 programme, but are so far the only two partners that have yet to commit to buying the F-35.