Army Denied Hercules Variant's Entry

They're not going to take this lying down... earlier this week, Lockheed Martin filed a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office against the US Army's decision to keep the manufacturer's C-130J cargo aircraft out of the competition for the military's new Joint Cargo Aircraft.

"We strongly contest the Army's decision," said company Peter Simmons.

As Aero-News reported earlier this month, the Army maintains the C-130J -- an updated variant of the storied Hercules -- did not meet the requirement of the competition stating the aircraft must be certified by the FAA. While other C-130 variants are certified, the J-model is not.

The C-130J was itself something of a surprise contender for the JCA contract, submitted at the last minute to compete against three foreign-sourced aircraft with connections to the US: Europe's C-27J Spartan, put to bid by a team consisting of Boeing and Alenia, and led by L-3 Communications; and two Spanish-designed aircraft, the C-295 and smaller CN-235, both submitted by EADS North America and Raytheon.

Lockheed maintains the Army jumped the gun in disqualifying the C-130J -- the only American-designed-and-built aircraft in the competition -- and failed to consider the Air Force's requirements in the "joint" contract.

Army officials had no immediate comment on Lockheed's protest. Both branches are expected to make the decision on what aircraft gets the contract for as many as 100+ planes next March.

FMI: www.lockheedmartin.com, www.c-27j.com, www.us-c295.com/military_transport.html