The U.S. Air Force said on Friday that U.S.-based Sierra Nevada Corp. and Brazil's Embraer would continue work on a $428 million contract to build new attack aircraft for Afghanistan after a federal court rejected a challenge by rival Beechcraft, Reuters reported on Friday. The Air Force said the Court of Federal Claims denied Beechcraft's challenge, but the congressional Government Accountability Office (GAO) was still reviewing a separate protest that Beechcraft filed against the deal. Beechcraft, which emerged from chapter 11 protection earlier this year, sued the Air Force to halt work on the planes while federal auditors reviewed the company's protest. The Air Force had authorized Sierra Nevada and Embraer to keep working on the order, despite Beechcraft's protest.
