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.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.