WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- A team that includes Boeing and Alenia North American submitted its proposal late Wednesday for the U.S. military's Joint Cargo Aircraft.
The consortium, which also includes L-3 Communications and Globe Military Aircraft Systems, formally asked the Pentagon to consider its C-27J as the next-generation light cargo plane for the Army and Air Force.
Proposals were submitted earlier by Raytheon and EADS North America, and by Lockheed Martin.
"The C-27J is built from the ground up to support combat operations, and is the most rugged, versatile, and survivable aircraft in its class," declared Alenia President Guiseppe Giordo. "It was designed to operate in remote and austere environments and provide the tactical utility necessary to logistically support soldiers."
The Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program will eventually replace the aging Sherpa as a means of ferrying cargo loads and troops in and out of often-remote airstrips that are too small for the Air Force's larger cargo planes.
Known as the Spartan, the C-27J is in service with a number of NATO countries. The twin-engine plane can carry standardized NATO 463L freight pallets and has a 25,000-pound load capacity, which is enough to accommodate a pair of Humvees.
Assuming funding goes through Congress smoothly, the Pentagon will likely announce a winner of the JCA contract next year with the first planes entering service with the Army in 2009.
