Pentagon Notes Faults in C-130J

Lockheed Martin Corp. delivered 50 C-130J transport aircraft to the U.S. Air Force that have deficiencies, the Pentagon inspector general said.

The planes, delivered at a total cost of $2.6 billion starting in 1999, fail to meet operational requirements, forcing the military to rely on older C-130 aircraft, Inspector General Joseph Schmitz said in a March 29 summary of a review obtained by Bloomberg News.

The Pentagon’s assessment may make it more difficult for Lockheed to sell the plane to U.S. allies, said Richard Aboulafia, director of aviation research at Fairfax, Va.-based consultancy Teal Group. Lockheed developed the C-130J in the 1990s as an upgrade of earlier versions of the C-130 Hercules, the most widely used aircraft for hauling troops, vehicles and cargo.

“The C-130J was supposed to be a quantum leap in capabilities,” Aboulafia said. “If the evaluation is accurate, it implies the technical problems have outweighed the gains. Until the situation is corrected, it doesn’t augur well for more C-130J export contracts.”

The summary of the inspector general report, which will be completed by June, didn’t identify the faults with the planes. The final report may make nonbinding recommendations to the Air Force, which purchases the planes, to revise contracts, or delay some payments until deficiencies are corrected. The report also is likely to be scrutinized by Congress, which approves funding.

Peter Simmons, Lockheed’s spokesman for the C-130J program, said the company hadn’t seen the inspector general’s report on the C-130J.

“We can’t comment on something we haven’t seen,” said Simmons. “We can say, however, the C-130J is currently flying operational missions around the world and is achieving outstanding reliability and maintainability results.”

Overall, the C-130J program displayed “unsound acquisition and procurement practices,” the summary of the inspector general’s report said.

The 50 C-130J aircraft delivered “do not meet commercial contract specifications or operational requirements,” the summary said. “Because of those performance deficiencies, military units that have the C-130J as part of their inventory must continue to maintain and use their older but more capable C-130 aircraft.”

Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Jennifer Cassidy said the service “has just received the draft C-130J report and will respond by the end of April.” She declined to comment further.

Shares of Lockheed fell 63 cents to $46.91 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have dropped 8.7 percent this year after declining about 11 percent last year.

Shares of Lockheed fell 63 cents to $46.91 on the New York Stock Exchange.