Lockheed Martin expects to receive a C-130J Hercules order from Saudi Arabia, the company said during an investors' conference call. The deal would be for the first of up to 25 C-130J tactical transports or derivatives previously disclosed to the US Congress as a potential sale.
Discussions of Lockheed's potential revenue for the remainder of 2013 included the expected deal with Riyadh. Outlined by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in November 2012, this covers up to 20 stretched-fuselage C-130J-30 airlifters and five KC-130J tankers. Along with the Saudi Arabian order, the company also discussed the possibility of closing a deal with India for a second batch of up to six of the transports. The Indian air force already operates six new-generation Hercules.
Another highlight was a possible repeat F-16 order from the United Arab Emirates. A recently announced deal has the UAE buying several examples to add to its existing fleet of F-16E/Fs - considered the most sophisticated model to date.
"We've got activities in Singapore and South Korea for [the] F-35. [We are] not sure if those will happen this year, but we're watching them very closely," says chief financial officer Bruce Tanner.
The company expects further revenue from training contracts linked to the US Air Force's Boeing KC-46 tanker and weapons for Saudi Arabian Boeing F-15s.
Sales at Lockheed's Aeronautics division in 2013 are down by 14% from this point in 2012, but revenue is up in the first financial quarter. Lockheed attributes the change to quickly signing contracts before the US government's funding sequestration takes effect. A slight downturn is expected for the next two quarters due to the implementation of sequestration, with the fourth quarter returning to normal.
Source: Flight International
