Lockheed's protest against Textron's $7 billion Army helicopter deal is denied by the US GAO

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s (LMT.N) protest to the U.S. Government Accountability Office about the future long-range-assault aircraft contract worth as much as $7.1 billion was denied by the Government Accountability Office on Thursday. Textron Inc's (TXT.N) Bell helicopter unit won the contract over Lockheed's Sikorsky unit.

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"The U.S. Army's determination that Sikorsky's proposal was technically unacceptable was based on the fact that Sikorsky failed to provide the level of architectural detail required in the request for proposal," the GAO stated in a statement.

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There are more than 2,000 medium-class UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters built by Sikorsky since the 1970s in the Army fleet. In December, the Army awarded the contract in hopes of ending a years-long competition for its next-generation helicopter, which would partially replace these aircraft.

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There has been a statement from the Army that it plans to operate its remaining Black Hawk fleet into the 2060s.

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Although the initial contract award was for $232 million, it will be worth a total of $7.1 billion when the first batch of helicopters goes into low-rate production. There is a potential value of around $70 billion to the contract - depending on the number of trucks that the Army and U.S. allies order - over the next few decades, according to the Army.

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Among the competitors in FLARAA was Bell's V-280 "Valor," a tiltrotor aircraft that according to the Army has been observed to reach speeds in excess of 340 mph (547 kph) during the competition. In the Army's evaluation of its performance, this aircraft beat both Lockheed's Sikorsky unit and Boeing Company's (BA.N) SB-1 "Defiant" which has two coaxial rotors and a single pusher propeller and has reached speeds of 265 mph (426 kph), according to the Army.

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"We are confident that the Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and Boeing team has submitted the most capable, affordable, and low-risk future long-range assault aircraft solution we have ever seen. We will review the GAO's decision and determine our next steps once we have completed our review," the companies said in a statement.

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This matter could be brought before the US Court of Federal Claims by Lockheed Martin.