Boeing Defence VP slams US government approval delays

DUBAI: Boeing’s vice-president of international business development warned excessive delays in US government approval for foreign deals harmed US manufacturing and its defence industry.

Speaking during a Q&A following a press briefing at Dubai Airshow on Monday, Jeff Kohler spoke of industry “frustration” with the US budget process over the last 5 years, and said defence firms were relying on international orders as a result.

“if you look at major defence companies, we have all increased our percentage of international sales” as a result of US budget cuts, he said.

But with delays in approvals — Boeing has two major deals in the pipeline — ran the risk of driving potential customers to non-US firms, he said.

“We are starting to see the erosion of the US industrial base,” he said. “Not just Boeing, but other companies as well need these international programmes. That helps keep a strong base for us to help support our own US military.”

Recent improvements to the Apache and Chinook helicopters were driven by the needs of non-US customers, he said, and non-US demand for TOW missiles meant they were still available when the US Army, which had stopped buying them, decided it needed them in Iraq.