Boeing poised to get military aircraft orders in Gulf

Boeing expects new orders for its military aircraft from the Gulf region this year, mainly for its C17 planes, H6-I and Chinook helicopters, a company executive said.

The company expects orders for 15 C17 planes, also known as Globe Master 3, over the next 12 months, and demand for 80 to 120 of its fighter planes over the next two to three years, said Paul Oliver, vice president for Middle East & Africa, International Business Development at Boeing, in an interview in Abu Dhabi today.

Boeing sold C17 planes to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and has opportunities for “at least two other customers” in the Gulf, Oliver said.

“We have several fighter jet opportunities in the region. We see at least three major fighter efforts,” said Oliver. “The Middle East is a main growth market. We expect potentially one customer this year to materialise for the CH-47 Chinook in the Gulf,” said Oliver, who could not disclose the number of aircraft as this is still being decided. “For H6-I, we see two customers this year for a total rough range of 30-40 aircraft.”

The H6-I is a light reconnaissance attack helicopter which features many of the capabilities of the Apache helicopter. The two customers would come from the Gulf region but not the Gulf Co-Operation Council, Oliver said. “There's a lot of interest in the H6 from the region, especially for border control and counter insurgency operations,” he said. Demand is driven by “recapitalization and replacement of older equipment,” said Oliver.