By Andrea Shalal
DUBAI (Reuters) - A senior Boeing Co . (N:BA) executive on Monday described the loss of an $80 billion U.S. bomber contract last month as a "minor setback" and said the company remained determined to expand its defense business.
"The opportunity to grow BDS remains," Tom Bell, senior vice president of global sales and marketing for Boeing's defense business, told Reuters, referring to Boeing's shorthand for its Defense, Space and Security division.
"The world is looking for ... tried and true products at a known price with a no-risk acquisition schedule," he said.
Bell, who returned to Boeing five months ago after heading Rolls Royce Plc's (L:RR) defense unit, said Boeing would continue to focus on winning future business lines, evolving existing products to meet customer needs and leveraging its huge installed base to grow its services business around the world.
Boeing suffered a setback last month when the U.S. Air Force chose its rival, Northrop Grumman Corp (N:NOC), maker of the stealthy B-2 bomber, to develop and build a new, long-range strike bomber.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp (N:LMT) on Friday filed a formal protest against the decision.
Bell said the decision to protest was "difficult," but declined to comment further until the U.S. Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress that rules on federal contract protests, has ruled on the matter by Feb. 16, 2016.
"Part of our strategy is to secure future franchises and we are working hard ... to do that. Like any strategy sometimes there's a minor setback here or a minor setback there but our strategy remains undeterred," he said, when asked about the impact of the bomber contract loss.
Boeing, which also makes helicopters, satellites, the KC-46A refueling aircraft and P-8A maritime surveillance planes, had hoped to win the contract since its two fighter lines - the F/A-18E/F and the F-15 - are nearing the end of production.
Bell said the company saw "plenty of opportunity" to continue winning new contracts and develop the weapons it already builds further in the coming years.
He said Boeing was also working to "robustly" expand its services business, which provides spares, training, maintenance and upgrades for Boeing aircraft in the United States and abroad.
Many competitors in the U.S. weapons industry are selling their services businesses, but Bell said those were largely focused on information technology services and providing people, an area in which Boeing had never been significantly engaged.
Boeing already has fixed-price performance-based logistics contracts to service specific aircraft and components for the U.S. military and foreign countries. That means it gets a flat fee for servicing aircraft and ensuring they are ready for action, while keeping any savings it generates.
The company is seeking to expand such deals and is also in discussions with six countries about offering a similar service to manage their entire aircraft fleets. He declined to name the countries or the potential value of such contracts, but said Boeing could reach agreement with some in a matter of years.