Wed, Aug 16, 2006
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.
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