U.S. Companies Expected to Lead Military Transport Aircraft MarketThe Global military transport aircraft market will grow steadily during the period of 2001-2010 with U.S. companies taking the lead, said a new market overview released at Aviation Expo/China 2001, which concluded in Beijing Saturday.Forecast International, a U.S.-based company specializing in aerospace and defense analysis, predicts that through the decade, the world's air forces will take delivery of nearly 870 new transport aircraft worth about 40 billion U.S. dollars. The company believes that in terms of actual aircraft shipments, Lockheed Martin Corp. will increase its market lead during the next 10 years while Boeing Co., another U.S. giant, commands a lead in sales revenues. According to Forecast International, U.S. companies' lead couldn't be safer than in the Heavy Lift segment. It is expected that during 2001-2010, Boeing and Lockheed Martin will continue to dominate the market. The C-17 strategic airlifter of Boeing and Lockheed Martin's new C-130J will be the major players and the Heavy Lift market will remain basically unchanged, said analysts from Forecast International. Airbus, the multi-national European consortium, is developing its new military transport plane A400M and at the Paris Air Show in July, eight European countries confirmed their commitment to buying 196 A400M planes. However, Bill Dane, a senior aircraft analyst from Forecast International, did not forecast a launch of A400M in the years ahead, and instead anticipated selection of the C-130J for most of the planned A400M requirements. A modest C-17 purchase by the Europeans is also possible, he said. Although European countries remain committed to the planned A400M, "this commitment is sounding more and more like an empty promise as none of the partners has yet anted up," Dane said. |
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