Overseas sales offer lifeline to anxious defense contractors
- By Defense Systems Staff
- Aug 31, 2012
The U.S. defense industry is counting on developing nations to help them make up for declining domestic and European sales, reports DOD Buzz.
A recent Congressional Research Service report indicated that U.S. arms transfer agreements tripled in 2011 compared to 2010, rising from $21.4 billion to $66.3 billion, the story said. From that total, $56.3 billion worth of arms transfer agreements were made to developing nations.
Among the nations offering promising sales markets are Saudi Arabia, India and the United Arab Emirates, the story said.
U.S. defense contractors have pleaded with the Defense Department Pentagon to loosen restrictions on foreign military sales to offset the drop in domestic sales, the story said.