Boeing: Willing to license F/A-18 production to Japan

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Boeing Co said it is willing to outsource some production of its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter planes to Japanese firms if the Japanese government decides to buy them as the country's next mainstay fighter aircraft.

Japan has yet to decide how it will replace its current fleet of aging F-4 Phantom fighters, whose design dates back to the 1960s and which have become increasingly difficult to maintain.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is also set to end production of its F-2 aircraft in 2011.

Boeing is prepared to collaborate with Japanese heavy machinery and small parts manufacturers to make F/A-18 Super Hornet jets, Joe Song, Boeing's vice president for defense activities in Asia-Pacific, told Reuters in an interview.

"Final assembly, run and check-out that's the minimum we can certainly provide. We can discuss other options to help the Japanese fighter industry," he said.

The world's second-largest defense contractor said it would be able to deliver up to 10 Super Hornets to Japan in 2015 if the government decides to buy them this year.