Boeing keen on defence sales to GCC

Dubai - It will tap regional customer interest for combat aircraft at Dubai Airshow.

Boeing hopes to sell between 20 and 25 tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey aircraft to military customers in the Arabian Gulf, according to a senior Boeing Defence executive.
The V-22 - 290 of which are currently in service with the US Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command - can carry up to 24 combat troops or over 9,000 kilograms of internal cargo at twice the speed of a helicopter. It is built in partnership with Bell Helicopter.
Speaking to media during a recent tour of Boeing helicopter facilities in Arizona, Dave Palm, director of sales and marketing for Boeing Defence, Space and Security (BDS), Vertical Lift Organisation, said that "probably about half" of the 40 to 50 aircraft Boeing expects to sell internationally will go to customers in the GCC.
In July, the first foreign sale of the V-22 - 17 to the Japan Self-Defence Forces worth around $3 billion - was announced.
Boeing also hopes to sell its AH-64e Apache and AH-6i attack helicopters and CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter to customers in the Middle East. The Apache and Chinook will be present at the Dubai Airshow in November.
Regarding the Chinook, John McGraw, manager of business development for Vertical Lift, said there was "strong" demand among Middle East customers, several of whom - including the UAE - already operate the helicopter.  
"We know that Egypt's fleet needs some attention," he said. "There are a couple of other countries in the region that have expressed an interest."
"I do believe it [sales] will be focused in GCC-type countries," McGraw added.
"The GCC has got very organised and they also have a very reasonable GDP and ability to fund programmes that other countries outside the region cannot."
The still under-development AH-6i, which Boeing officials describe as a "street fighter" helicopter useful for operating in urban environments, will begin operating in 2017.
Boeing has already secured the sale of 24 AH6is to a Middle Eastern country that customer executives declined to name. Media outlets have reported the aircraft will go to Saudi Arabia's National Guard.
"It has generated an extreme amount of customer interest now that there is somebody else already in the queue in front of them," said Jim Barker, senior manager, business development for the AH6i. 
Boeing also hopes to explore the sale of AH-64e, older versions of which are used by a number of countries in the Middle East, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. A number of countries with the previous 'D-Model' are discussing purchasing the newer variant, according to Boeing executives.
- bernd@khaleejtimes.com

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