Lockheed Martin reportedly is out of the running for the Joint Cargo Aircraft competition because its proposed aircraft—a short-fuselage variant of the C-130J Hercules—failed to meet initial requirements. According to the Washington Post, the Army, which is working the JCA program in concert with the Air Force, eliminated Lockheed because it hasn’t received FAA approval for the short-fuselage J model. Lockheed could protest the decision and probably will since the J model has full FAA approval. If the Army decision stands, that would leave two competing contractor teams: Alenia/Boeing/L3 Communications offering the C-27J Spartan and Raytheon/EADS North America with the C-295 and CN-235.
A dozen and a half Air Force Reservists formally transferred to the Space Force on July 15, becoming the new service’s first 18 part-time Guardians. The move is the culmination of more than two and a half years of work to create a system unlike any other military branch.