AIRSHOW-Pentagon sees 6,000 possible F-35 sales in future

PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - The head of the Pentagon's F-35 fighter program said on Wednesday that total sales of the Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could reach 6,000 over time, based on the number of fourth-generation fighters in use that would eventually need to be replaced.
Brigadier General David Heinz, program executive officer for the F-35, said the United States and its eight foreign partners were expected to order more than 3,100 fighters.
Initial foreign military sales to other countries such as Spain, Israel, Greece, Singapore and South Korea could add at least 1,000 more orders. But in time, as world fleets of F-16, F-15, F-18 and other fighter jets need replacements, sales could climb as high as 6,000, Heinz said at the Paris Air Show. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)