Boeing sees export market of 100 maritime planes
WASHINGTON Jan 6 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Tuesday that it was confident the U.S. Congress would approve a $2.1 billion sale of eight P-8 naval patrol aircraft to India, and projected global demand for at least 100 more airplanes in coming years.
India, fast becoming one of the world's biggest arms importers, announced on Monday that it had signed a contract with Boeing for eight anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft as part of an overhaul of the South Asian nation's mainly old Soviet military hardware.
Bob Feldmann, Boeing's program manager for the P-8, or Poseidon, program, welcomed the agreement and said he hoped it would be the first of many international orders for the Boeing 737-based plane.
"We have a tremendous horizon out there," Feldmann told a teleconference, noting that a large number of maritime nations that operate the predecessor P-3 or other patrol planes, and none had replaced or modernized their fleets in decades.
"We see a market of 100-plus international Poseidons in the various maritime nations that need this kind of capability," he said.
Boeing is developing the aircraft for the U.S. Navy under one of the rare Pentagon programs that has met its cost and schedule targets.
Feldmann said Boeing officials had signed a contract with India on Jan. 1, but declined to give many additional details.
He said the P-8I Boeing would deliver to India was based largely on the plane it is building for the U.S. Navy, and would involve the same main subcontractors: Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N); Raytheon Co (RTN.N); CFM International, a joint venture of Snecma Moteurs and General Electric Co (GE.N); General Electric Aviation; and Spirit AeroSystems [SPERO.UL].
But Feldmann said Boeing would also use a "significant" number of Indian suppliers for the plane, and hoped to include those suppliers on future business deals for the P-8I. He declined to give a percentage for those offset deals.
The first P-8 would be delivered to India in four years, and work on all eight would be finished by 2015. Feldmann said Boeing hoped India would order additional naval patrol planes, but declined to say exactly how many.
India plans to spend $30 billion on imports over the next five years to modernize its Cold War-era arms and is trying to strengthen its navy by introducing new weapons.
Feldmann said the deal was Boeing's first military sale in India, but the company was also bidding for other projects. Boeing has already submitted a bid for a contract to supply India with 126 multi-role F-18 fighter jets, a deal that could be worth more than $10 billion.
Last July, Boeing said it would bid for defense projects in India worth up to $20 billion over the next 10 years.
Feldmann said Boeing had learned a great deal during two years of negotiations with India about the naval patrol planes and had gained a better understanding of Indian defense procurement policies and practices.
He said the company was pleased how quickly the deal had been finalized, as well as the level of engagement by Indian defense officials. "I think it will help us in all the other competitions and opportunities that are there with the Ministry of Defense," he said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
((andrea.shalal-esa@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 354 5807; Reuters Messaging: andrea.shalal-esa.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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