Boeing Co. said Japan may initiate a contract to procure a new fleet of 40 fighter jets as early as next month, a potential opportunity to sell its F-15 or Super Hornet models.
Japan could send out an initial request outlining its specific needs over the next few months, and Boeing will then see if a version of its F-15 or Super Hornet would fit the bill, said Jeff Johnson, Boeing’s vice president for business development.
“We believe there is the potential that a request for proposal will be released this year, possibly as early as spring,” Johnson said in an interview at the Singapore Airshow. “We got a lot of interest from Japan.”
Japan needs to replace its ageing fleet of F-4EJ Phantoms, which it bought from 1968 onwards from McDonnell Douglas Corp., a company purchased by Boeing in 1997. As well as Boeing’s options, Japan will have the choice of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the Eurofighter Typhoon. A U.S. export ban would prohibit Japan from buying Lockheed’s F-22.
“Japan has always bought American ever since the Second World War,” said Nick Cunningham, an analyst at Evolution Securities in London. “It will be interesting to see if they are willing to buy European, or if they are going to use Eurofighter just as a stalking horse.”
Contract Battleground
U.S. and European defense companies are vying for aircraft contracts in the Asia-Pacific region as Australia, China and India are leading a drive to upgrade their air, naval and land forces. The region’s jet market is valued at more than $40 billion through 2019, according to Richard Aboulafia, vice president of aerospace analysis company Teal Group. That excludes upgrade work, support activities and logistics.
Asia Pacific is a “key” market for Lockheed, accounting for about a third of its international business, Patrick Dewar, international vice president, said in an interview during the Singapore Airshow.
The biggest battleground for contracts is India, which is seeking 126 combat aircraft. Boeing will start flight tests with the Indian Air Force in the U.S. this week, Johnson said.
“India is a very hot topic and is progressing well,” said Johnson.
Boeing faces competition from Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The venture, owned by London-based BAE Systems Plc, Rome- based Finmeccanica SpA and European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., is also in early discussions to bid for contracts in Malaysia and South Korea, said spokesman Marco Valerio Bonelli in a telephone interview from Munich.
Other contenders for fighter-jet contracts include Dassault Systems SA, Saab AB and Russia’s Rosoboronexport, the Russian arms export agency and distributor of the Sukhoi and MiG.