F-35 Gains More Market; Rivals Push Upgrades
With the first F-35 customer—the U.S. Marine Corps—set to declare operational capability with the single-engine, stealthy fighter in as little as 18 months, the Lockheed Martin jet continues to dominate the global fighter market.
However, its competitors—the Boeing F/A-18E/F, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen—are all continuing with upgrade plans for a diverse set of customers, some of whom will eventually buy the F-35 and others who cannot afford it.
The F-35's edge was affirmed in November when Seoul bypassed its own procurement agency's recommendation to purchase 60 semi-stealthy Boeing F-15 Silent Eagles in order to buy fewer F-35s within a set budget of 8.3 trillion won ($7.7 billion). South Korea's decision follows Japan's choice in late 2011 of the F-35, which both countries have been willing to buy at a premium, sacrificing tail numbers in their force structures for stealth and integrated avionics.
Seoul's decision likely buries Boeing's ambitions to sell the Silent Eagle variant of its venerable F-15; both the Strike Eagle and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler are built at the company's facility in St. Louis. The Silent Eagle was to include conformal weapons bays and employ fly-by-wire controls. It is unclear whether the company will snag more F-15 sales beyond those to Saudi Arabia; Riyadh's last aircraft is scheduled to roll off the line in 2018.
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