Army Beats Air Force on Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA) Program

This was a relatively small (1/2 the size of a C-130) cargo aircraft, with the C-27J Spartan winning the competition.

The conflict was that TheHill.com - Army poised to win fight over cargo aircraft

They got it because the USAF is cutting everything in an effort to get more bling like F-22s and C-17s.

The Army and Air Force National Guard are slated to fly the C-27J, the aircraft selected for the JCA program.

Had the Army lost responsibility for the program, more Air National Guard units would have flown the C-27J in support of homeland defense missions. But Army supporters argued that the Air Force did not have the necessary staffing or processes in place to take over the program in a timely manner. Had that takeover occurred, the Army argued, it could have wound up delaying the program by at least a year.

And then there is the US Army experience with what happens when the USAF takes over small STOL cargo aircraft. They have restrictions that greatly reduce the utility of the aircraft to the ground troops.