Boeing, sensing that Lockheed Martin’s formerly unassailable sales pitch for the F-35 has been dramatically weakened by the rash of cost and schedule increases, has come to the Paris Air Show eager to convince foreign governments that their F-15 and F-18 are the right thing to buy instead.

Boeing has argued that the F-18 E/F Super Hornet is proven, boasts relatively low operations and maintenance costs and can be ready for customers sooner than the F-35.