Raytheon Formally Protests L-3's Receipt of Military Cargo Contract

Raytheon Co. said it filed a formal protest Friday over the U.S. military's decision to choose competitor L-3 Communications' C-27J short-range cargo aircraft over its own. The contract is currently valued at around $4 billion, and has the potential to be worth upwards of $6 billion according to the Wall Street Journal (it was initially announced as being valued at $2.04 billion but that apparently failed to take into account another 24 planes the Air Force is purchasing). Raytheon executives failed to say what the basis of their protest was, beyond CEO William Swanson saying his company doesn't file protests without good cause. Raytheon shares lost 3.61% in composite trading last week.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, AP
Commentary: L-3 Communications Secures $2 Billion Bid To Build Military Transport Planes • Raytheon, Computer Sciences Corp. Ink Deal With Army For Up To $11.2B • Cramer's Take on RTN
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Raytheon Company (RTN), L-3 Communications Holdings (LLL). Competitors: Boeing (BA), Honeywell International Inc. (HON), Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC). ETFs: iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense (ITA), PowerShares Aerospace & Defense (PPA)

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