Just how big should LM be?

Reading the Artical on the T-50/A-50 Golden Eagle and I started thinking, how much influence does America, let alone Lockheed Martin have in the world of Aircraft?

LM have two new types coming on line
F-22 Raptor
F-35 JSF

They also have about half the world using the F-16 which was acquired when they bought General Dynamics, But what about the other things they have a hand in?

Mitsubishi F-2
ADIC FCK-1 Ching Kuo
KIA T-50/A-50 Golden Eagle

Sure the Asian market have realised the potential of the American giant, but it has also be a very costly alliance for all three countries. Japan even if it was allowed to, couldn’t export any F-2’s cause of the direct link to the F-16 which the US has surplus of at the moment anyway so both new and old F-16’s pirces can be reduced to bargin amounts.

Taiwan is still having problems with thier IDF’s, and at an early stage realised that it wasn’t going to happen, so they ended up buying 160 F-16’s, but still LM was in there with the FCK-1 so it was a win-win situation for them as well!

Now the KIA T-50 is out, again a win-win for LM who has both a hand in the GE and F-16’s being produces in Korea, thus ensuring a double wad of cash coming in on both hands.

I remember reading somewhere that LM was consulted over the problems with the LCA in India, so in some small part they have a hand in that also.

Is there any country out there who LM won’t go to to get some money? If so why not, and would they try anyway to get in on a project? I feel that LM (as good as they are) are trying to Monoploise the world market, making the rich get richer and the poor get the picture to coin a phrase from the band Midnight Oil.

Will the US senate restrict LM on somethings? If so will LM be sneaky and work around those restrictions?

Just something to think about.

Leave no-one behind!