Defense News:
Lockheed Martin is seeing increased international interest for its air- and missile-defense products and projects slow but steady growth as more countries opt to purchase their own systems, an executive told Defense News.
In the coming years, the company expects to win competitions in Europe and the Middle East for technologies like its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) and Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) interceptor. But Rick Edwards, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, believes there is a lot of room to further grow that customer base.
“Because of the nature of the threats and because PAC-3 and THAAD and MEADS are all defensive systems, there’s good US government support for these sales,” he said in a July 12 interview at Farnborough International Airshow. “That’s the part of the portfolio that’s seeing the most growth around the world.”
Although much of the speculation surrounding Lockheed’s potential foreign military sales centers on high-visibility platforms like the F-35 joint strike fighter or the littoral combat ship, the company’s missile and fire control division is responsible for about 50 percent of its international purchases, Edwards said. That portfolio spans air and missile defense, short- and long-range missiles, unmanned aerial systems, sensing and targeting pods and vehicle offerings.
