Aircraft

Flight International online news 1235GMT: Lockheed Martin will today recommend to the US Army that it switch to Bombardier's Global Express large business jet as the platform for the troubled Aerial Common Sensor programme, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The US giant is battling to save the $8 billion project after its original proposal to use the Embraer ERJ-145 collapsed when it emerged that the aircraft was too small.

According to the newspaper, Lockheed Martin will argue that work already done in militarising the Global Express for the UK ASTOR programme will save money, even though the aircraft itself is more expensive than the Embraer type.

The company and Army declined to comment for the story but the report states that the Army official overseeing the programme has "endorsed" the switch.