Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and L-3 Communications have signed a strategic partnership agreement that is to serve as the basis for a long-term arrangement between the two for Joint Cargo Aircraft support opportunities—if L-3 wins the Army-Air Force JCA competition. L-3 is leader of a team that includes Alenia North America, Boeing, and Global Military Aircraft Systems that has entered the C-27J Spartan in the new medium tactical airlift program. At last word, the only remaining competitor is the Raytheon/EADS North America team offering either the C-295 or CN-235. The Army kicked Lockheed Martin out, and, in late November, the company lost its protest to the Government Accountability Office.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.