Lucky Lockheed

New life for the C-5N

Executives at the Burbank, Calif., headquarters of Lockheed Corp. were all smiles last week, while at rival McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis the gloom was thick enough to slice with a propeller. The reason: word had leaked out that the Pentagon was recommending the $4.6 billion purchase of 50 of the giant Lockheed C-5Ns as cargo airlifters for the nation's rapid deployment force. The decision was an unexpected one, since only last August chiefs of the Air Force, Army and Marines had unanimously recommended that a new plane designed by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17, be chosen...

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