Boeing expects Middle East conflicts to boost demand

Conflicts in the Middle East will prompt the region’s governments to modernize their military equipment over a decade-long cycle, unlike the spurts in demand following the relatively short Gulf War of 1991, a Boeing Co. official said.

“We’ve gone through a period of multiple conflicts in the region. Like you see in the U.S. and other partners, a lot of the equipment is wearing out faster than they planned,” said Jeffrey Kohler, vice president of international business development at Boeing Defense, Space and Security. “That is going to generate over the next decade a continued look at modernization.”

Boeing Defense expects 30 percent of its revenue, or about $10 billion, to come from international business, with a "significant portion" from the Middle East, Kohler told Bloomberg.

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