Faults Cited in Lockheed’s C-130J Plane

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s C-130J transport plane, facing cancellation because of budget cuts, continues to have problems that make it unreliable, the Pentagon’s primary weapons testing office said in a new report.

Glitches in the aircraft, meant to replace older C-130 versions, render it ineffective for some operations, Pentagon Director of Operational Test and Evaluation Thomas Christie said in his annual assessment of top weapons systems, repeating criticisms he made a year earlier. “A program for the correction of deficiencies is being worked,” he wrote.

“Major issues confronting the C-130J include funding of logistics support and training systems, hardware deficiencies, software and technical order deficiencies, manufacturing quality, subsystem reliability and failure to meet required measures of system effectiveness and resolution of documented deficiencies,” Christie wrote in a report submitted to Congress on Jan. 6.

A similar assessment was made in July by the Pentagon inspector general. The Air Force and Lockheed, the top U.S. defense contractor, have said the glitches were being fixed.

Shares of Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed rose 53 cents to $56.53 on the New York Stock Exchange.