Army Still Skeptical Of Brazilian Manufacturer

It looks for all the world like Lockheed-Martin may reluctantly bounce Brazilian plane-maker Embraer from its list of partners on the Army's Aerial Common Sensor program. The reason: The US Army says the ERJ-145 is just too small and the Army is reluctant to go with a bigger Embraer aircraft without rebidding the project.

Lockheed and Embraer had suggested using the much larger Embraer 190 as a platform for the electronics-packed sensor package. But even that model may not have the lifting power to handle the projected weight -- which is now approximately 40-percent more than what Lockheed figured when the contract was awarded 13 months ago.

It would be a huge blow to Embraer. The initial development contract is worth $879 million. If the Lockheed platform were to go into full production, the contract could be worth well over $7 billion. Even worse for the Brazilian plane-maker, the Navy, which is taking a wait-and-see attitude toward development of the ACS, is expected to eventually add billions of dollars more to the order.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday the 190 "continues as one of the alternatives being considered," according to a Lockheed spokeswoman. But because the 190 is untested for military applications, Lockheed is moving quickly to distance itself from Embraer and pick another airframe provider in hopes of saving the contract altogether.

That may prove difficult. The Army, like the Navy, may be ready to step away from the project and wait for the Air Force to develop its own sensor platform, the E-10A (above) Multisensor Command and Control aircraft. That plane is now being developed by a team that includes Boeing, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman.

A final decision from the Army could come as early as this week.

FMI: www.army.mil, www.lcmo.com