The US General Accounting Office, has denied Hughes Aircraft's protest at the US Air Force's selection of Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas, to develop the Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM), in a programme which could be worth $3 billion.

The GAO's decision to turn down Hughes Aircraft ends several months of legal maneuvres by the JASSM loser before the congressional watchdog agency and federal courts. The GAO says it elected to back the USAF decision after considering the merits of the protest.

Source: Flight International