NOC Northrop Grumman Corp Holding Co

Lockheed Martin Corp. said Thursday that it is suing the Pentagon over its handling of a $6.75 billion military truck deal awarded to Oshkosh Corp. in a move that could challenge efforts to start delivering Humvee replacements to the Army next year.

The company filed the suit Wednesday in the Court of Federal Claims under seal, and it wasn't clear if Lockheed was seeking an injunction that would force Oshkosh to again stop work on building the first of almost 17,000 new Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for the Army and the Marines.

Oshkosh resumed work on the project Tuesday following a three-month hiatus after the Government Accountability Office dismissed a protest lodged by Lockheed in September, citing the defense company's decision to mount a challenge in court.

Lockheed didn't comment on whether it was seeking an injunction. "We look forward to working with all parties involved on the next steps," the company said in a statement.

The case has been assigned to Judge Charles F. Lettow, who earlier this year overturned the award to Exelis Inc. of a contract to service a U.S. Air Force base in Greenland.

Lockheed is concerned about new documents that emerged during its challenge to the Oshkosh award, according to a person familiar with its legal challenge.

Defense analyst Byron Callan at Capital Alpha Partners LLC said the decision to take the matter to court may suggest Lockheed had limited confidence in the GAO's overturning the original award made in August.

Oshkosh shares were recently down 1.5% at $39.74, with Lockheed off 0.4% at $216.67.

AM General LLC, which had also bid on the truck, elected not to lodge a protest.

Lockheed and partner Boeing Co. are also awaiting the results of a joint protest lodged with the GAO against the award to Northrop Grumman Corp. of a far larger deal to develop a new long-range bomber for the U.S. Air Force, with a decision expected in January.

The relative lack of long-term military-equipment deals in recent years has made protests increasingly commonplace, though less than a fifth of them are upheld by the GAO, a nonpartisan government watchdog.

Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 17, 2015 12:55 ET (17:55 GMT)

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