AUDIO: Defense Contractors Tell Investors That Escalating Conflicts Are Good for Business

Major defense contractors Raytheon, Oshkosh, and Lockheed Martin assured investors at a conference in West Palm Beach this week that they stand to profit from escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

Hear Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President Bruce Tanner’s remarks to the Third Annual Industrials Conference:

Lee Fang and Zaid Jilani report at The Intercept:

[...] Tanner told the conference his company will see “indirect benefits” from the war in Syria, citing the Turkish military’s recent decision to shoot down a Russian warplane. […]

Wilson Jones, the president of the defense manufacturer Oshkosh, told the conference that “with the ISIS threat growing,” there are more countries interested in buying Oshkosh-made M-ATV armored vehicles. Speaking about a recent business trip to the Middle East, Jones said countries there “want to mechanize their infantry corps.”

Raytheon Chief Executive Tom Kennedy made similar remarks, telling the conference that he is seeing “a significant uptick” for “defense solutions across the board in multiple countries in the Middle East.” Noting that he had met with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Kennedy said, “It’s all the turmoil they have going on, whether the turmoil’s occurring in Yemen, whether it’s with the Houthis, whether it’s occurring in Syria or Iraq, with ISIS.”

The last bit of good news for the contractors is the latest budget deal in Congress. After years of cuts following the budget sequester, the deal authorizes $607 billion in defense spending, just $5 billion down from the Pentagon’s request, which DefenseNews called a “treat” for the industry.

“Our programs are well supported [in the budget],” said Lockheed’s Tanner at the conference. “We think we did fare very well.”

Read more here.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

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