Lockheed Opposes US Army Move To Drop C-130 From JCA Contest

Posted on: Aug. 15th, 2006 || Source: money.aol.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

Lockheed Opposes US Army Move To Drop C-130 From JCA Contest

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) on Monday attacked the U.S. Army's decision to drop the company's C-130J aircraft from a $6 billion cargo plane contest, filing a protest with the Government Accountability Office and urging that the whole program be put on hold.

Lockheed accused the Army of not working closely enough with the U.S. Air Force, a co-participant in the Joint Cargo Aircraft program. The two services announced plans earlier this year to buy 145 planes for a variety of battlefield transport missions.

The Army began work on the program before the Air Force joined in, so it has been leading the competition process. In recent weeks, the selection team has dropped the C-130J and another contender, the CN-235 offered by Raytheon Co. ( RTN) and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (5730.FR), citing Federal Aviation Administration certification concerns.

Lockheed Martin says its planes meet all of the Army's certification requirements. Further, the planes are already a mainstay of the U.S. Air Force fleet, which the company says ought to allay any remaining worries.

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