Surprise Bid.

This article reports that Lockheed Martin Corp. is preparing to leap into the fray for the U.S. Army/Air Force Joint Cargo Aircraft program with the first four-engine offering in what had been a contest between twin-engine designs. Meanwhile, Boeing Co. plans to announce an alliance with Alenia and L-3 Communications to market the C-27J in which Lockheed Martin also has a stake. With the deadline for replies to the request for proposals pushed back three weeks from the original date of May 17, Lockheed Martin planners will put forward a proposal for its C-130J short-fuselage variant, which can take advantage of the established training and logistics chain already in place as well as a program for biennial upgrades to cockpit avionics.