Lockheed May Get $1.15 Billion Order for 26 Transport Planes

Published: Dec 28, 2005
Source: quote.bloomberg.com



Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. may receive a $1.15 billion U.S. military order for 26 C-130J transport aircraft over the next two years under a Defense Department budget proposal.

The plan, included in a budget memo approved by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, would authorize purchase of 13 planes in each of fiscal 2007 and 2008. Pentagon officials had terminated the five-year, 60-plane contract a year ago to save money, then restored it in May after lawmakers objected to the cut.

The Pentagon had the option to stretch the purchases out through 2011, said Richard Aboulafia, a military aircraft analyst with the Teal Group, an aerospace market research firm in Fairfax, Virginia. Its plan to buy the planes more quickly ``is a strong endorsement of the program and commitment to the platform that tells prospective foreign customers this program will be around,'' Aboulafia said.continue..