Boeing eyes Asia to expand its defence business

Boeing wants to expand its defence business outside the United States as it moves to compensate for Washington’s cuts in defence spending, a leading executive said Friday.

Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said the aerospace giant aimed to sell more fighters, airlift planes and unmanned systems in Asia.

The international market now accounts for about 16 percent of Boeing’s total annual defence revenues of $34 billion and the company plans to expand this to 20-25 percent in the next five years, Muilenberg said.

The Asia-Pacific now contributes half of non-US revenues, he told reporters in Singapore, where he was attending a security forum.

“We’ve seen some flattening in the US defence budget and that has impacted us in a couple of areas like missile defence,” he said.

Battling to sell latest fighter jets

With demand for its main products remaining robust, the company is expanding into other businesses such as unmanned systems, computer systems security and protecting electrical power grids.

It is also expanding its business outside the US military, and is looking for more contracts in India, Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Japan, Muilenburg said.

“Our international business segment is a strong growth area,” he said.

The need for new aircraft in humanitarian relief missions and disaster rescue is driving demand for its Chinook helicopters and C-17 military transport planes, he said.

India has signed a deal to buy eight P8i anti-submarine aircraft from Boeing and has expressed an interest in purchasing 10 C-17 military transport aircraft.

Boeing is also one of several companies battling to sell modern fighter jets to the Indian air force.

AFP

Tags: Asia aviation industry, Asia aviation market