Lockheed: Continued foreign interest in F-35 despite Turkey's suspension

As the Pentagon grapples with whether to oust Turkey from the F-35 program, the manufacturer's chief executive said today "the list of interested countries is continuing to grow."

"There's continued interest," Marillyn Hewson added during a call with analysts. "Even the existing partners are expanding their needs -- take Japan for example."

"It's certainly an opportunity for us to address a growing demand," she said. "We frankly have great capacity on this program."

Meanwhile, the contractor reported that sales in its most recent quarter reached $14.3 billion, up 23 percent from the same three-month period a year earlier.

The company's quarterly profit hit $1.7 billion, up about 47 percent from the prior year.

Lockheed reported improved sales and profit in all four of its business units.