Lockheed open to F-35 work in Portugal, awaits request

Lockheed Martin said it is open to producing F-35 components in Portugal as part of any future sale to the Portuguese Air Force, but stressed that industrial participation would be only one factor in a procurement decision. The issue matters for Portugal’s defence industry because Lisbon is weighing a replacement for its ageing F-16 fleet and local industrial work has been highlighted as a priority.

Speaking to Portuguese journalists in Fort Worth, Texas, company executives said they are still waiting for a formal Letter of Request from the Portuguese government under the US Foreign Military Sales process. Lisa Herrmann, from Lockheed Martin’s international business development team, said the request is currently the only way for Portugal to obtain additional information for comparisons, adding that submitting it would not commit the country to a purchase and that the US government would take “some months” to respond on eligibility.

Robert Weitzman, director of international F-35 business development, said Lockheed is “not standing still” while it waits, and remains in regular contact with Portugal’s defence sector. Asked whether the company would consider including F-35 component production in Portugal, he said the answer was yes, but added that the details would depend on the government’s request. “Industrial cooperation is obviously critically important for any decision to be made”, he said. “But it is not the only requirement, it is one of many.”

Lockheed argued that the F-35’s main strengths for Portugal are its global scale, operational maturity, survivability and interoperability. Weitzman said the programme now involves 20 partner countries and pointed to 1,300 aircraft delivered and more than one million flight hours. He said that if Portugal chose the F-35, it would automatically be interoperable with hundreds of the aircraft already in service in other countries.

The company also said it has been working with Portuguese industry bodies including AED and idD for the past year and a half to two years. Herrmann said Lockheed has identified 16 projects involving 21 beneficiaries, including five universities, companies or research centres, in areas such as co-production, technology transfer, exports, supply-chain integration and research and development.

Nick Smythe, vice-president for sustainment business development, said the company sees maintenance as a key opportunity, arguing that 70% of a fighter jet’s lifetime cost comes after delivery and that Lockheed wants the aircraft to be operated, maintained, repaired and upgraded in Portugal.

Originally published at Eco.pt