March 26, 2005

Pakistan's Order Lifts Lockheed F-16 Plant

The Bush administration's decision to sell F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan is likely to be as warmly greeted in Fort Worth as it is in Karachi.

That's because Lockheed Martin Corp. has said it needs new orders for the jet before this fall, or it will have to take action to close the production line there that employs about 5,000 workers.
[...]
...The Fort Worth plant delivered its last F-16 to the U.S. Air Force last month, Jurkowsky said, but is still building planes for the governments of Israel, Chile, Poland and the United Arab Emirates.
[Wonder what the UAE plans to do with those planes?]
[So, they're not really hurting, are they?--Jen]
[...]...The company has sold F-16s to 24 countries and makes them overseas, too, in Europe, Turkey and Korea.
[Turkey, eh?
Hmmm...]
[...]
Richard Aboulafia, an aircraft analyst with the Teal Group in Fairfax, called the sale of two dozen fighter planes to Pakistan "a happy juxtaposition of the wants and needs" of an ally in the war on terrorism and Lockheed's troubled F-16 line. The bigger issue for Lockheed, he said, is the chance to sell another 100 or more F-16s to India, Pakistan's rival in the Asian subcontinent.
[...]
Despite the concerns Indian officials expressed yesterday about news of the sale to Pakistan, the analyst said the prospect of both countries buying F-16s is a positive. "Two countries that have F-16s have never fought a war."

Let's hope that's right.
Pakistan and India are trying very hard not to fight with each other, especially over Kashmir and the number of attacks, bombings and killings has really been down in the last months.
Meanwhile, we here in the Metroplex are enjoying the shot in the arm this gives to our economy!