22 July 2021

Boeing bullish on Asia-Pacific despite Covid challenges

by Jon Grevatt

Boeing sees strong opportunities for growth in Asia-Pacific defence markets despite current challenges related to Covid-19, a company official has said.

Maria Laine, vice-president of international sales and strategic partnerships at Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), said in a media briefing on 21 July that the company has identified a “USD41 billion” sales opportunity in the region over the next five years in new military platforms.

“We are working on over 50 different campaigns in the region,” she said, with opportunities for sales of Boeing platforms including fighter aircraft, vertical lift, attack helicopters, tankers, unmanned systems, and services.

“We are expecting that more than one-third of all newbuild military aircraft over the next decade [will be] purchased by countries in the Asia-Pacific region,” she said.

In addition to sales campaigns, Laine said Boeing had identified significant opportunities for an expansion in regional services contracts for activities including maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrades.

“The government support and services markets will grow between 2020–29 to be worth about USD1.4 trillion,” said Laine, referencing global opportunities. “Within the Asia-Pacific region, we are expecting that demand to be about USD210 billion … and Northeast Asia is driving about half of that demand.”

According to data sourced from Janes Markets Forecast, India, Japan, and South Korea will be the largest spenders on military aircraft over the coming decade. (Janes Markets Forecast)

Countries referenced by Laine as central to Boeing's Asia-Pacific strategy include Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.

Boeing sees strong opportunities for growth in Asia-Pacific defence markets despite current challeng...

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