Boeing Aims to Win 130 F-15 Fighter Orders From Asian Customers

[+BUFF]

By Lee Spears

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co., the second-largest U.S. defense

contractor, is pursuing orders for 130 F-15 jet fighters from Asian

customers as nations increase military spending.

Possible orders from South Korea and Japan would add to the 32 F-15s

awaiting delivery in the region, Stephen Winkler, director of F-15

international programs at Chicago-based Boeing, said in a press briefing

today at the Singapore Airshow. The orders will extend the F-15 production

line in St. Louis, Missouri through 2012, he said.

Boeing and Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corp. are competing for

overseas orders as growth in U.S. military spending slows. The proposed 2009

U.S. military budget from President George W. Bush's administration asks for

$515.4 billion, an increase of 7.5 percent, compared with an 11 percent gain

this year.

South Korea, which ordered 40 F-15K fighters in 2002, may ask for another 20

from Boeing by next month and another 60 later, Winkler said. Japan may

order as many as 50 F-15s to replace two aging squadrons of F-4 fighters, he

said.

Boeing has delivered 32 of the 40 F-15s that South Korea ordered in 2002 and

will deliver the final eight by next year, Winkler said. Singapore has 24 of

the fighters on order, he said.

The U.S. is phasing out the earlier model F-15s in favor of the new Lockheed

Martin Corp. F-22 fighter. The Air Force, which says it needs more than 300

F-22s, has been limited by the Pentagon into buying 183.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lee Spears in Singapore

lspears2@bloomberg.net .

[+JediMaster]

Between the lines: "...since it can't sell any F-22s to anyone else..."

[+SkippyBing]

Be interesting to see their sales pitch.

 

'Yeah the fatigue cracking only becomes an issue after about 30 years, you'll be fine...'

[Viggen]

Perhaps then Boeing will make some F-15Ds for the USAF.

[Atreides]

What if they offer a F-15 IN for sale ? Or a F-15Ck (Canuck) for our AirForce ! That would be cool.

 

EDIT:- No chance of there being a Canadian F-15 (just a dream of mine), since Canuck companies have major investments in the F-35, the companies making substantial profits in the F-35 program are Canuck companies, so I for one would like to see how many we get.

Edited February 21, 2008 by Atreides

[+JediMaster]

F-35 and F-15 are totally different planes. Buying F-15s do to the job is wastefully inefficient.