Amazon Web Services (AWS) is striking back against Oracle’s JEDI bid lawsuit. AWS will join the U.S. Department of Defense as a defendant, according to media reports.

Earlier this week Oracle filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims alleging conflict of interest in the Pentagon’s $10 billion JEDI cloud computing solicitation. The contract will lock the military into a single cloud provider for 10 years.

Oracle and IBM also filed protests with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). These also cited the program’s single-vendor requirement, and both companies argued that the Pentagon’s solicitation favored one cloud provider — widely assumed to be AWS.

But the GAO rejected both protests, and on Monday Oracle escalated its fight to the federal court.

AWS, in its motion to intervene, argues that it has a “direct and substantial economic interests at stake,” according to the Washington Business Journal. The filing cites Oracle’s conflict-of-interest accusations and calls them “meritless.” It also says AWS should be able to defend its reputation and financial interests.

Oracle’s lawsuit alleges two people involved in the procurement process have close ties to AWS. One of these people reportedly called a colleague who voiced support for AWS rivals a “dum dum,” according to Slack messages obtained by Oracle. This person also allegedly “attacked anyone who took multi-cloud positions or advocated non-AWS solutions.”

Photo Copyright: Pablo Borca