FACTBOX: Air show execs comment on economy, outlook

(Reuters) - The following are comments made by executives from the global aerospace and defence industry at the Paris Air Show this week on the economy and the industry outlook.

SCOTT KUECHLE, CFO, GOODRICH (GR.N)

"The signs are there that at some point pretty soon we're going to get to the point where we have an upturn. It's hard to tell exactly when that is. I think we're past the biggest threat."

JOHN RICE, VICE CHAIRMAN, GENERAL ELECTRIC (GE.N)

"I would say the environment continues to be difficult. People talk about green shoots and stabilisation -- I don't know that we've seen enough yet to say that we've bottomed out, although certainly we expect that to happen. Until the financial systems start to work again it will be difficult to say that we've hit the bottom and started to come back."

DAN MURPHY, CEO, ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS (ATK.N)

"I think that the economy is bottoming, yes, but I am petrified by the debt that this country is taking on.

"I'm not sure that there's a wide recognition from what sort of a long-term challenge this is going to be to pay it off."

RON SUGAR, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, NORTHROP GRUMMAN (NOC.N)

"The fear of continued freefall is basically behind us."

"We do not see the United States defence budget dramatically decreasing. In fact, if anything we're going to see (it) probably stable, maybe slightly increasing."

GIORGIO ZAPPA, COO, FINMECCANICA (SIFI.MI)

"U.S. defence spending remains very stable if you look beyond the big programmes."

PIERFRANCESCO GUARGUAGLINI, CEO, FINMECCANICA

"I have seen, at least in Italy, some signs of recovery from the economic point of view. But really, that was in May compared to April, not May compared to a year ago."

SCOTT CARSON, CEO, BOEING COMMERCIAL AIRPLANES (BA.N)