Week in review (3/11 to 3/17)

A merger and sale that will impact some big players in this region, the successful flight of an Eglin F-35, the re-establishment of a council in Mississippi to protect that state's bases, and multiple contract awards were some of the Gulf Coast-related aerospace news items that moved during the past week.

Here’s the week in review:

Merger and sale
It's official now. United Technologies of Hartford, Conn., said during the week that engine maker Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne is for sale. The parent company is selling Pratt and Whitney to help finance its $16.5 billion purchase of aerospace supplier Goodrich Corp. (Post)

During the week Goodrich Corp. shareholders approved the proposed merger. More than 98 percent of votes were cast in favor of the transaction. Once the merger is complete, Goodrich will become a wholly owned subsidiary of United Technologies. (Post)

Goodrich operates the Alabama Service Center in Foley, Ala., and with the merger that operation will become part of an international conglomerate that includes helicopter-make Sikorsky.

As for Rocketdyne, being sold is nothing new. As the Los Angeles Times reported, Rocketdyne was formed after World War II by North American Aviation, which later merged with Rockwell International. That company became part of Boeing, which in 2005 sold it to United Technologies.

Rocketdyne, headquartered in Canoga Park, Calif., has operations in Florida, Alabama, and at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss. At SSC the company is best known for testing the RS-25 engines that powered the now-canceled Space Shuttle. Those engines will be used for NASA's Space Launch System. Rocketdyne at SSC also assembles and tests the J-2X, which also will be used in the SLS.

Jim Maser, president of Rocketdyne, said he doesn't see the sale making a major impact on the company's business strategy.


Space
Speaking of Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, the company completed mission-duration hot-fire tests on a launch abort engine earlier this month in Canoga Park, Calif. The engine is for Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft. Boeing's Crew Space Transportation system is a reusable, capsule-shaped spacecraft designed to take up to seven people or cargo to low Earth orbit. (Post)

The abort propulsion system is designed to push the crew capsule to safety if an abort becomes necessary during launch or ascent. The CST-100 is compatible with the Atlas V, Delta IV and Falcon 9 launch vehicles. The RS-68 engine, a Rocketdyne product, is assembled and tested at SSC for United Launch Alliance's Delta IV.

- While we're on the subject of propulsion systems, a sub-scale solid rocket motor designed to mimic NASA's Space Launch System booster design was successfully tested during the week at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. (Post)

The 20-second firing tested new insulation materials on the 24-inch-diameter, 109-inch-long motor. The motor is a scaled down, low-cost replica of the solid rocket motors that will boost SLS off the launch pad.

ATK of Brigham City, Utah, is the prime contractor for the booster. Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans builds the Orion crew capsule for the SLS and SSC in Mississippi will test the RS-25 and J-2X engines for the SLS.


F-35
The first Eglin F-35 flight was cut short by a fuel leak, but the stealthy fighter had a successful second flight during the past week. U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Joseph Bachmann flew the 93-minute local orientation flight in aircraft AF-13. The F-35 Integrated Training Center at Eglin is scheduled to train about 100 F-35 pilots and 2,200 maintainers annually. (Post)

While on the subject of the F-35, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded two contracts during the week in connection with the F-35 program.

One was a $56.3 million modification to a previously awarded contract to provide more funding for the sustainment effort necessary to meet the requirements and delivery schedule for the F-35 Low Rate Initial Production V. Sixty percent of the work will be done at Eglin.

Lockheed Martin also was awarded a $38.6 million modification to the previously awarded low rate initial production Lot 6 advance acquisition contract to provide more funding for the procurement of long lead items for F-35 low rate initial production conventional take-off and landing aircraft for the Air Force and the governments of Italy and Australia.


Drawdown
The Mississippi Military Communities Council has been re-established by Gov. Phil Bryant. The commission will advise Bryant and staff on legislative issues that could impact Mississippi's bases as well as "promote Mississippi's military missions at the national level" and develop growth opportunities. (Post)

Two new Base Realignment and Closure rounds are expected in the coming years. South Mississippi has military aviation activities at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Gulfport International Airport and Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg. South Mississippi is also home to a Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport and has a large Navy presence at NASA's Stennis Space Center.


Bases/airports
Direct Air, which said last month that it will provide three non-stop flights a week beginning June 15 between Gulfport, Miss., and Lakeland, Fla., suspended operations for two months. The Myrtle Beach, S.C.-based air carrier is working through contract issues with a fuel provider, officials said. (Post)

- About 90 percent of workers at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., will stay home later this week as the base enacts tight security measures as part of a preparedness exercise. Access to most base facilities will be unavailable from noon Thursday until noon Saturday. Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Fla., will also be participating. (Post)

- The Air Force's 23rd Flying Training Squadron at Fort Rucker, Ala., named its new consolidated operations center after Maj. Randell Voas, a CV-22 Osprey pilot. He died April 9, 2010, near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a crash during a combat operation. Voas, stationed at Hurlburt Field, Fla., at the time of the crash, had been a pilot instructor for the 23rd at Fort Rucker. (Post)


Unmanned systems
The Naval Research Laboratory, which has a major operation at Stennis Space Center, Miss., held a ribbon cutting for its Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research in Washington, D.C., during the week. The lab will focus on autonomous systems research for the Navy and Marine Corps. (Post)

The one-of-a-kind lab has specialized facilities to support research in intelligent autonomy, sensor systems, power and energy systems, human-system interaction, networking and communications and platforms. It has multiple bays providing environments from desert to littoral and more.

The Gulf Coast region is highly interested in unmanned systems. Fire Scout and Global Hawk unmanned aerial systems are built in Moss Point, Miss., by Northrop Grumman. There are also multiple UAV-related activities here. In addition, a lab in Pensacola, Fla., does research on artificial intelligence and human-machine interaction.


Contracts
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was awarded its first option year by NASA for its Manufacturing Support and Facility Operations Contract at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The option year has a potential value of $137 million. … L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $21.2 million modification to a previously awarded contract for logistics services support of 119 TH-57B/TH-57C aircraft. Work will be performed at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla. … Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $7 million contract for 18 range safety systems with jammer compatibility for Low Rate Initial Production 3, Reliability Assessment Program and initial operational flight tests. AAC/EBJM, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.


Shipbuilding/maritime
Contracts for four more Littoral Combat Ships were awarded by the Navy Friday. Lockheed Martin received $715 million for two ships and Austal USA, of Mobile, Ala., received $691.6 million for two ships. (Post) Austal also was awarded a $19.7 million contract modification exercising options for special studies, analyses, review and class service efforts for the LCS program. Seventy-two percent of the work will be performed in Mobile. (Post)

- Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., won a $20 million contract modification exercising an option for integration, installation, and testing of the Aegis combat system on DDG 51-class ships. Twenty-two percent of the work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss. (Post)

- ITT Exelis has completed its first overhaul of a mine-sweeping system for the U.S. Navy. The Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, Fla., awarded the contract in 2009. The refurbishment extends the life of this MK-105 Mod 4 Airborne Mine Countermeasure Influence Sweep unit for another 10 years. (Post)

Week in review (3/4 to 3/10)

Loose fasteners that shortened the first flight of an Eglin F-35, the spectre of using an Eglin-developed bunker-buster bomb, the opening of a public comment period about UAV test sites, the cut of one squadron at Eglin and the move of helicopters to Duke Field, and a robot fire fighter that will be tested in Mobile were some of the aerospace news items of interest to the Gulf Coast during the week.

Here's the week in review:

F-35
Three loose fasteners caused the fuel leak that shortened the first flight of an Eglin F-35 during the week. The 90-minute flight was cut to 15 when the pilot of a chase plane saw the leak. Maintainers also found residual water from an earlier wash of the aircraft. The F-35 is expected to fly this week. Eglin, in northwest Florida, is home of the Joint Strike Fighter training center, which will train all aviators and maintainers from all three branches of service that will use the F-35. (Post)


Weapons
The 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a bomb designed to penetrate deep in the ground before exploding, is one of the weapons in an arsenal that could be used in a clash with Iran over its nuclear program. That's what Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle, Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations, told a conference on U.S. defense programs during the week. Eglin Air Force Base in northwest Florida was involved in the development of the bunker-buster penetrator. The base was also involved in the developed the Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb. (Post)


Space
J-2X engine 10001 during the week was moved back to the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., for a second round of tests. Both the engine and test stand have been modified to begin simulated altitude testing in the coming months. The J-2X, which will provide upper-stage power for NASA's Space Launch System, is built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. (Post)

Meanwhile, some 40 miles away at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the initial construction of the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 vehicle is nearing completion. EFT-1 will launch in 2014 from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., by a United Launch Alliance Delta IV. Orion, which will fly 3,600 miles above Earth in the test, is designed to carry astronauts into deep space. It will eventually be launched by NASA's Space Launch System. The SLS engines are being tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss., which also tests the RS-68 rocket engines for the Delta IV. (Post)


Unmanned
OK, here's one that’s not aerospace, but it is robotic and that's a field of high interest to the Gulf Coast region since we build and fly unmanned aerial systems in this region. And besides, it involves Mobile, Ala., and a unique test facility that’s been there for decades.

The humanoid robot, Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot or SAFFiR, is being developed to fight shipboard fires. The robot, filled with sensors and armed with fire suppressors, is designed to interact with people, even responding to gestures, and make decisions on its own if needed.

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory formed a team to develop SAFFiR, which will be tested aboard the ex-USS Shadwell in Mobile in late September 2013. The 457-foot World War II-era Shadwell, officially called the Full Scale Fire Test Facility, is where full-scale fire and damage control tests are conducted in a realistic ship environment. The Shadwell is at 50-acre Little Sand Island in upper Mobile Bay. (Post)

Speaking of robots, the Federal Aviation Administration is seeking public comments on the agency's selection process for picking six unmanned aircraft system test sites around the United States. Comments are due by May 9. The sites will help the FAA develop the framework to govern the use of UAVs in the national airspace. Congress called for full integration by 2015. (Post)


Crewmember recovered
The body of the fourth crewmember of a Coast Guard helicopter that crashed in Mobile Bay was recovered during the week. It was flight mechanic Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Knight, recovered more than two miles southwest of the crash site. Four crewmen were aboard the MH-65C that was on a training mission out of the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile. (Post)


Cuts and changes
The 728th Air Control Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be decommissioned due to force structure changes. About 375 airmen are assigned to the squadron. Air Combat Command determined divesting the 728th is the most feasible option because it's not co-located with operational aircraft and live, air-to-air training opportunities are limited. The changes will take place Sept. 1. (Post)

Meanwhile, the 46th Test Wing's UH-1N Hueys have left Eglin main to join the 413th Flight Test Squadron's operating location eight miles north at Eglin's Duke Field. The helicopters will operate from Duke Field to allow the test wing to support a 250 percent increase in helicopter developmental test programs beginning in June. The move will centralize all Air Force helicopter developmental test and evaluation in one squadron. (Post)


Contracts
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $24.1 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the development of a data farm for the Joint Strike Fighter U.S. Reprogramming Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The data farm will interface with lab's prime mission equipment and is used to store software and data from the F-35 mission data testing. The ability to store and retrieve data is critical for mission data production which is vital to program execution.


Shipbuilding/maritime
BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards and Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., finished a four-month repair job on a Navy research vessel. The companies teamed to work on the Sea Fighter, an experimental vessel based out of Panama City, Fla., an aluminum catamaran that the Office of Naval Research uses to test technologies it will use on its littoral combat ships and joint high-speed vessels. (Post)

In Pascagoula, Miss., the Noble Max Smith rig that’s been under repair at Signal International's west shipyard was moved by the newest of Signet Maritime's tug fleet. The Signet Constellation and the Signet Stars & Stripes were used along with the tugs Daniel Colle, Natalie Colle and John Colle for the rig tow to Signal's east yard on Bayou Casotte. (Post)

Week in review (2/26 to 3/3)

The loss of four Coast Guard crewmen; the death of a Hurlburt officer in Afghanistan; approval of F-35 flights at Eglin Air Force Base; a new UAV center at Camp Shelby; F/A-18s training in Pensacola; and delivery of a satellite built in part at Stennis Space Center were just some of the news items of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace region during the past week.

Here's the week in review:

Losses
The bodies of three crewmembers of a Coast Guard MH-65C helicopter that crashed during the week into Mobile Bay have been recovered. Dead are pilot Lt. Cmdr. Dale Taylor, co-pilot Lt. j.g. Thomas Cameron, rescue swimmer Fernando Jorge and flight mechanic Petty Officer 3rd Class Drew Knight, whose body has yet to be recovered. The helicopter was on a training mission out of the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala. (Post)

- During the week we also learned that one of the two U.S. officers shot in the head at a ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan, was from Hurlburt Field, Fla. It was Lt. Col. John Darin Loftis, with the 866th Air Expeditionary Squadron. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the killings were in retaliation for the burning of Korans. (Post)


Unmanned systems
Add another piece to the region's unmanned aerial vehicle activities. Camp Shelby, south of Hattiesburg, was selected as the site for a new $48 million regional flight center for the Army National Guard. It was chosen from 19 sites nationwide. The base has been used for tactical UAV training for deploying troops, but now it will have a permanent center. (Post)

- Flight tests are underway for the first developmental multifunction active sensor (MFAS) radar destined for the Navy's MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System, or BAMS. In addition, the wings and landing gear were installed on the first BAMS, a variant of the Global Hawk, at the company's Palmdale Manufacturing Center. BAMS central fuselage work is done in Moss Point, Miss. (Post)

- Keep your eye on the Fire Scout line of unmanned aerial systems. The Navy's decision to cancel the Medium-Range Maritime Unmanned Aerial System program was bad news for Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which planned to propose the Hummingbird and K-MAX, respectively.

But a third player that was expected to compete for the MRMUAS program, Northrop Grumman, probably isn't too unhappy. That's because the Navy figured the MQ-8C, the larger version of the Fire Scout that uses a Bell 407 airframe, could fill the MRMUAS requirements just fine. (Flight Global, AOL Defense)

The savings are significant: $200 million cut from the FY13 budget and $1.3 billion over the next five years. You could almost see this coming. Back in December in the omnibus spending legislation, Congress set aside $191 million for the Navy to buy 12 C models. And that’s likely just the start. (Previous related post)

Motley Fool took up the issue and pointed out that Northrop Grumman's dominance in the UAV industry just keeps growing and growing (Motley Fool)


F-35
F-35As at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., are cleared to fly by both the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and the Air Education and Training Command in Texas. It's a crucial step towards the startup of training at Eglin's Joint Strike Fighter training center. In addition to six Air Force variants, Eglin is also home to three F-35B aircraft, the Marine Corps variant. (Post)

Sources tell Air Force Times that the F-35As will begin flight operations Tuesday, weather permitting. The base has two qualified test pilots, Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Smith and Marine Maj. Joseph Bachmann, who will serve as instructors for the rest of the wing's aviators. (Story)

- In another F-35 matter, the Air Force plans to reduce the number of bases where the F-35s will be based. It's a way to reduce the life-cycle cost. The Pentagon plans to reduce the number of operating bases for the F-35A from 40 to the low 30s. (Story)


Other aircraft
F/A-18 Hornets from Carrier Air Wing Seven are temporarily at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., while repairs are made to a landing field at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. The Hornets will do field carrier landing practice at the Navy's Outlying Field Choctaw in nearby Santa Rosa County through March 10. (Post)

- The Air Force canceled a $355 million contract to Sierra Nevada Corp. of Sparks, Nev., and Brazil's Embraer to build 20 Super Tucano A-29 light support aircraft, citing problems with documentation. Hawker Beechcraft of Wichita, Kansas, filed suit when its AT-6 was kept out of the competition. (Post)

- EADS North America delivered the 200th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter to the U.S. Army during a ceremony at the American Eurocopter production facility in Columbus, Miss. It's the first production aircraft to be delivered with the new Security and Support Battalion Mission Equipment Package. (Post)


Space
NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi hosted a breakfast during the week for community leaders from Mississippi and Louisiana. Patrick Scheuermann, director SSC, said the center where rocket engines are tested has a $1 billion impact on the region. The center also hosts activities from other federal and state agencies and commercial companies. The facilities engineering manager for the Rolls-Royce North America Outdoor Test Facility said it was the 125,000-acre acoustical buffer zone surrounding Stennis Space Center that prompted the company to pick South Mississippi to test airliner engines. (Post)

- Lockheed Martin delivered the second Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communications satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., where it will be readied for an April 2012 liftoff aboard an Atlas V. The AEHF system will replace the five-satellite Milstar constellation. Core propulsion work for the AEHF is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)

- The Orion Parachute Test Vehicle has a successful parachute drop test in Yuma, Ariz., at the Army proving grounds. The vehicle was dropped from a C-17 aircraft for the test of the parachute system. (Story) The Orion crew vehicle is built at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.


Military cuts
The Air Force is not migrating anything from Eglin Air Force Base, according to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. Plans to merge Eglin's 96th Wing and 46th Test Wing and put the new super wing under the command of a general at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., has caused concerns that the wing will eventually be moved to California. But Schwartz told the House Armed Services Committee, in response to a question by Rep. Jeff Miller, that "Nothing is migrating from Eglin with respect to the proposal for the Air Force Materiel Command reorganization." (Post)

Well something is changing for Eglin. Lt. Gen. C.D. Moore II was nominated to lead a new center that will be created in October as part of the Air Force Materiel Command’s restructuring. He'll command the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The center consolidates the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson, Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., and Air Armament Center at Eglin. (Post)


Airports
American Airlines soon will more than double flights between Northwest Florida Regional Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. American Eagle now flies to and from Dallas/Fort Worth three times a day during the week and twice a day on the weekend. Starting April 3, the airline will add four round-trip flights a day. (Post)

- Mobile Regional Airport is getting a $2.9 million facelift. The Airport Authority plans to install canopies along the front of the building made from the same pipe-and-plastic covering material used in front of the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel in downtown Mobile. The facelift should take about seven months to complete. (Post)


Economic development
Alabama's governor says his administration is in constant contact with Airbus about establishing an assembly plant Mobile, but Gov. Robert Bentley said no active project exists and no formal negotiations have been conducted. Airbus parent, EADS, had hoped to build an aerial tanker assembly plant in Mobile, but those plans vanished when Boeing won the Air Force contract last year. Airbus has an engineering center and a service center for military aircraft in Mobile, and has expressed interest in establishing a plant in the United States. (Post)

- Four years after Northrop Grumman and EADS won a contract to build tankers for the Air Force – a contract canceled 11 days later – a termination fee is still in the works, according to Air Force Times. Under the 2008 award, EADS planned to assemble the planes in Mobile, Ala. Work began on the airframes, but the contract was overturned and Boeing won the new competition. The Air Force still partly owns two Airbus A330 airframes built as part of the original contract. One is in storage in Spain and the other in France. Air Force officials said they expect the contract termination issues to be settled soon. (Post)

- Site Selection magazine ranked Baldwin County as the eighth most successful micropolitan area in the United States in 2011. The March online edition listed the county for expanding or attracting corporate entities. Among the projects that led to the listing was Aero-Mark MRO, a maintenance and repair aerospace company that located in the existing Fokker Airinc facility. (Post)


Contracts
Boeing was awarded an $11.4 million contract from the Air Force, with the first delivery order worth $4.6 million to provide parts to be used to complete installation of 25mm Ammunition Storage and Handling Systems on four AC-130U gunships. The Boeing Fort Walton Beach facility will build the components for delivery to Robins Air Force Base, Ga. … Industria Paschen Group J.V., Chicago, Ill., was awarded a $48 million contract for simplified acquisition of base engineering requirements, such as minor, noncomplex construction projects, maintenance, alternation, or repair of real property at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and its associated sites. The 325th CONS/LGCC, Tyndall Air Force Base is the contracting activity.


Shipbuilding/maritime
The March 2012 issue of Seapower Magazine has a feature story on the work towards maintenance-free hulls. The Gulf Coast's Ingalls Shipbuilding, Austal USA and the University of New Orleans School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering are prominently featured in the story. Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport, Miss., builds large composite structures for Navy ships, including the deckhouse and hangar for the DDG 1000. In Mobile, Ala., the second Littoral Combat Ship, USS Independence, features all-aluminum construction, as does the Joint High Speed Vessel. And at UNO's Welded Structures Laboratory, work is being done to find a better way for welding titanium. (Story)

- Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant will be in Pascagoula Monday for a news conference to
formally announce details of the commissioning of the USS Mississippi in Pascagoula in
June. About 5,000 people are expected to attend the June 2 event. (Post)

- The Naval Oceanographic Office Fleet Survey Team from Stennis Space Center, Miss., completed survey operations in the coastal waters of Cartagena, Colombia, late last month. The FST conducts about 14 surveys a year worldwide. (Post)

Week in review (2/19 to 2/25)

The loss of four Hurlburt Field airmen, more progress with the F-35, VIP visits to NAS Pensacola and Stennis Space Center, the elimination of a flying unit in New Orleans, the first flight of a Rolls-Royce XWB engine and plans for an unmanned version of the A-10 were just some of the aerospace stories during the week of interest to the Gulf Coast region.


Not forgotten
Four airmen from Hurlburt Field, Fla., with a combined 18 deployments, 3,100 combat hours and 20 years of service, died last weekend when their U-28A crashed near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. It was at the end of what the Air Force called a routine mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Killed were Capt. Ryan P. Hall of Colorado Springs, Colo., with the 319th Special Operations Squadron; Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock of Newnan, Ga., and 1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens of Bend, Ore., both with the 34th Special Operations Squadron; and Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten of Upper Marlboro, Md., with the 25th Intelligence Squadron.

There were no other personnel aboard the single-engine aircraft.

Hall, 30, was a pilot and on his seventh deployment, and had more than 1,300 combat flight hours. He's joined the Air Force in 2004. Whitlock,29, also was a pilot and was on his fifth deployment. He had more than 800 combat flight hours and joined the Air Force in 2006. Wilkens, 26, was on his third deployment and had more than 400 combat hours. Scholten, 26, was on his third deployment and had more than 600 combat hours. Both joined the Air Force in 2009.

The Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field will hold a memorial service for the four airmen Tuesday.

In addition to those four airmen, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported Saturday that one of the two soldiers killed in protest over the burning of the Koran was Army Sgt. Joshua A. Born, of Niceville, Fla. Born and Cpl. Timothy J. Conrad Jr., of Roanoke, Va., both were shot in Afghanistan.

Unless you receive casualty reports from DoD on a regular basis, it's easy to forget that we have men and women who place their lives in danger every day in "routine" missions. As a veteran myself who comes from a family of veterans, I make it a point to read every one of these reports as my way of giving thanks. They deserve our deepest respect.


F-35
The Marine Corps during the week hosted a rollout ceremony to celebrate the January arrival of the F-35B, the short takeoff-vertical landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter. Hundreds attended the event at Eglin Air Force Base in northwest Florida.

Eglin, which will train F-35 pilots and maintainers for all branches of the military and foreign allies, is home to the largest contingent of F-35s. There are six Air Force F-35A conventional landing and takoff versions and there F-35Bs, the vertical takeoff and landing variant. The planes started arriving at Eglin last year. Eventually, there will be 59 at the base.

For the Marines, the F-35 will replace the F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier and EA-6B Prowler.

Officials at Eglin said Friday that military training flights could be approved by late March or early April, underscoring comments made earlier by Gen. Edward Rice, head of the Air Education and Training Command. He said at an Orland, Fla., conference that the F-35s could be flying in a matter of weeks.

- The first external weapons test mission was flown by an F-35A this month during a mission at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The Feb. 16 test involved an Air Force F-35 carrying two air-to-air AIM-9X missiles on the outboard wings stations, two GBU-31 guided bombs and two AIM-120 air-to-air missiles carried inside the weapons bays. The jet also had mounted four external pylons that can carry 2,000-pound air-to-ground weapons. No weapons were fired in the test. (Post)

- A Royal Air Force squadron leader became United Kingdom's first military test pilot to fly the F-35C carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter. Jim Schofield said the F-35 is the best handling of any jet he's flown. His Feb. 21 flight at Patuxent River, Md., is the latest in a series of milestones for the UK's program, which included the first F-35C launch from an electromagnetic aircraft launch system. That system will be used in the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier now under construction. (Post)

- Lockheed Martin opened a new 57,000 square-foot facility in Pinellas Park, Fla., to produce canopy components for the F-35. The facility is an annex to Lockheed Martin's existing 197,000 square-foot building that's been making structural components for more than 10 aircraft since 1997. (Post)


VIPs
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff paid a visit to several commands at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., during the week. He visited the Naval Education and Training Command, Training Air Wing 6, the Air Force 479th Flying Training Group and the National Museum of Naval Aviation. Dempsey also held a town hall meeting in the museum atrium. Topics included military transition, the defense budget, leadership, training and building the force of the future. (Post)

- While we’re on the topic of visits, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver was at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans during the week. She said the proposed NASA budget "will keep us on the cutting edge of the space program." She said the $17.7 billion budget allows NASA to continue to utilize the International Space Station and develop the space vehicles that will allow NASA to explore further into space than ever before. Stennis Space Center tests rocket engines for the Space Launch System and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans is involved in building the Orion crew vehicle and portions of the SLS. (Post)


Connections
While on the topic of SSC, here's another one with an SSC tie.
The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine took to the skies for the first time, powering an Airbus A380 test aircraft in Toulouse, France. The aircraft flew with one of its four Trent 900 engines replaced by a Trent XWB. The Trent XWB will power the new Airbus A350 XWB.

The Trent XWB engine is tested at Stennis Space Center. (Post)


Cuts
The Navy proposes to decommission a squadron at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, eliminating a flying unit that focuses on stemming the flow of drugs to the United States, according to the Times Picayune. Under the 2013 spending plan released this week, the Navy Reserve’s Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 would cease to exist Sept. 30. VAW-77 has about 100 active duty and reserve Navy personnel and about 55 civilian contractors. (Post)


Unmanned
Raytheon picked Aurora Flight Sciences to join the team that will create an unmanned version of the battle-tested A-10. The Persistent Close Air Support program is funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. Other members of the team include Rockwell Collins and GE Aviation.

Aurora Flight Sciences has a UAV manufacturing center in Columbus, Miss.; Raytheon has multiple activities along the Gulf Coast; GE Aviation is building engine parts plants near Hattiesburg, Miss., and Auburn, Ala., and also operates a parts plant in Batesville, Miss. (Post)

- There was an interesting bit of news posted by DoD Buzz during the week about what may become of the Block 30 Global Hawks the Pentagon no longer wants. Those UAVs, along with the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft, may be sold.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley at a press conference at an Air Force Association-sponsored conference in Orlando, said potential buyers are being contacted. The Air Force retired the relatively small fleet of brand new C-27Js and Block 30 Global Hawks as part of its efforts save billions of dollars in the coming years. (Story)


Contracts
Composite Engineering Inc., Sacramento, Calif., was awarded a $32.7 million contract to procure a quantity of 35 BQM-167As, also known as the Air Force Subscale Aerial Target. The location of the performances is Sacramento, Calif. AAC/EBYK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.


Shipbuilding/maritime
Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Fla., is expanding west into Gulf County. The company will lease 20 acres at a Port of St. Joe paper mill site to expand its shipbuilding and repair business. ESG is currently in the process of filling 500 new positions needed to meet current and future contract needs, according to The Star and Panama City News Herald. (Post)

- The proposed 2013 budget for the Coast Guard includes money for a sixth National Security Cutter, but nothing for a seventh and eighth vessel. The ships are built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. (Post)

- Three areas of the Gulf Coast region will benefit after Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., was awarded a $321.7 million modification to previously awarded contract for the exercise of construction options for Joint High Speed Vessels 8 and 9. Mobile will do 48 percent of the work, while 2 percent is done in Gulfport, Miss., and 1 percent in Slidell, La. Work is expected to be completed by April 2016. (Post)

- A contract was awarded to Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss. It's a $70 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract for advance procurement of long-lead-time materials in support of LPD 27, the 11th ship in the San Antonio (LPD 17) class. Work will be done in Pascagoula and is expected to be completed by April 2012. (Post)

Week in review (2/12 to 2/18)

Intriguing indications that Mobile may eventually get a major aircraft assembly plant; a two-state push to create an industrial megasite between Panama City and Dothan; a new research lab at Eglin Air Force Base; and the first in a new series of rocket engine tests at Stennis Space Center were just some of the news items during the week of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace region.


It was at an aerospace suppliers' conference near Seattle that talk turned to Airbus' continuing interest in establishing a production line in this country. No surprise there. EADS/Airbus has made clear that ongoing interest.

But a column by Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times had some intriguing details, including word that an announcement could be made this summer, and that 10 A320 jets will be build every month. He also said the favored site is Mobile, Ala. (Post)

If you follow the daily news feed, you know there have been plenty of stories indicating EADS/Airbus' interest in the United States. In January Hans Peter Ring, chief financial officer of EADS, said in an interview with Bloomberg that Airbus may add a final assembly line in the United States to increase visibility.

In September 2011, Sen. Richard Shelby told the Birmingham News that EADS is looking into whether it's feasible to build commercial planes in Mobile. That was after previous reports that both Boeing and Airbus had record orders, including American Airlines ordering 460 new single-aisle planes, 260 of them from Airbus, with options for more planes.

One intriguing announcements out of Singapore during the just-ended air show was that Airbus, ST Aerospace and EADS EFW will work together on a program to convert A330 passenger jets into cargo freighters. ST Aerospace will lead the engineering development and Germany's EADS EFW, which will become the European center for ST Aerospace's global maintenance, repair and overhaul operations, will carry out "most" of the conversions in Dresden. (Post)

About 900 conversions will be required over the next 20 years. Dresden will be able to convert 15-18 A330s a year, not enough to handle all the conversions. With ST Aerospace and Airbus in Mobile, is it possible some of this conversion work could come here?

- While on the topic of growth, GE Aviation's production rates are expected to grow from about 3,000 commercial and military engine deliveries in 2011 to 3,400 in 2012 and 3,800 in 2013, according to the company. By the end of the year GE Aviation will complete construction of a 300,000-square-foot factory in Ellisville, Miss., to make composite components for jet engines, and another 300,000 square-foot facility in Auburn, Ala., that will make machined parts for commercial and military engines. (Post)


Team work
Four economic development groups in two states are working together on a megasite along the Interstate 10 corridor on a road linking Dothan, Ala., to Panama City, Fla. The organizations are the Bay County Economic Development Alliance, Alabama Development Office, Enterprise Florida and the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, according to the Panama City News Herald. Neal Wade, executive director of the Bay EDA, said representatives from the organizations have been meeting for more than six months to prepare for the project along State 77 and I-10. (Post)


BRAC
The Pentagon's 2013 budget calls for two rounds of base closings. One would be in 2013 and the other in 2015. The last Base Realignment and Closure round was in 2005, a round that brought additional activities to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

That could well be why the commander of the 96th Air Base Wing said Eglin said he isn't worried about hits from any upcoming BRAC. In fact, Col. Sal Nodjomian wants to base to take steps to ensure it can take in new missions.

Nodjomian made the comment while speaking during the week at the Leaders in Business Lunch organized by the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce. He also played down the decision announced in November to close the Air Armament Center and merge the 96th mission into the 46th Test Wing. He said the only impact for Eglin was the elimination of management positions, and that the combined 46th and 96th will be a "super wing" reporting to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (Post)

But I doubt his words were enough to convince a task force not to worry. Yes, it may be true that the only initial impact of putting the 46th under a two-star in California is minimal. But the first step when walking the plank is never bad.


Testing
The new High Pressure Particulate Physics Facility officially opened this month at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The facility was built to enhance the role of science and technology in smart munitions development, and contains a 60-mm smooth bore gun, complemented with high-resolution, high-precision, time-resolved diagnostics for use with various imaging technologies. The gun will be able to launch a few kilogram mass at high speed and will address basic questions on material behavior, as it relates to munition weapon systems and weapon effects. (Post)

The Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 light attack aircraft successfully fired laser-guided rockets during tests last month at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., making the AT-6 the first fixed-wing aircraft to launch a laser-guided rocket. The 2.75” laser-guided rocket testing included BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System and Raytheon’s TALON. The weapons were fired from about three nautical miles and guided to their targets using either an airborne laser from the AT-6 or a ground laser from the Eglin range. Hawker is fighting a decision by the Air Force to award a contract for light attach aircraft to Sierra Nevada and Embraer. A stop work order on the contract as issued after Hawker took the matter to federal court. (Post)

The Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command successfully completed a test flight of the new Economical Target-1, Feb. 15 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Economical Target-1 missile was launched from the Santa Rosa Test Site with the support of the 46th Test Wing on Eglin into the ocean area within the test range. (Post)

While on the subject of testing, engineers at Stennis Space Center, Miss., conducted an initial test of the J-2X engine powerpack during the week, marking the first of a series of tests in development of the rocket engine that will help power the Space Launch System. The powerpack is on the top portion of the J-2X and includes the gas generator, oxygen and fuel turbopumps along with related ducts and valves. (Post)


F-35
Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 will host the Marine Corps' official F-35B Lightning II rollout ceremony this week at its hangar at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The F-35B is slated to replace the Marine Corps’ F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier and EA-6B Prowler. Eglin Air Force Base is home to the F-35 training center for all branches of the military and allied nations that will be using the F-35. (Post)


Airport
A new direct flight will be offered between Mississippi's Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and the Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Fla., beginning in June. The Sun Herald reports that the 90-minute flight will be offered three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. A special promotional fare of $99 is being offered through Feb. 22. (Post)


Unmanned systems
Mississippi is a key player in the growing unmanned aerial systems field. In addition to the Global Hawks and Fire Scouts built in Moss Point, Mississippi has two other companies building four types of UAVs, as well as airspace where UAV flights are permitted and companies that work on sensors and advanced materials, both important to the industry. (Post)


Contracts
The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded an $111.4 million contract for procurement of 4,844 joint direct attack munitions. The location of the performance is St. Charles, Mo. Work is expected to be completed by May 2014. AAC/EBDK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Jacobs Technology, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $36 million contract to provide for the technical and administrative services in support of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protection vehicle. Work will be performed in Kuwait and Afghanistan, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland, Texas and Georgia, and Indiana. … Jacobs Technology, Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $157.2 million contract to provide for the systems engineering and technical assistance support services. Work will be performed in Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, Kentucky, and Georgia.


Shipbuilding/maritime
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the names of the next five Navy ships. Three Arleigh Burke class destroyers will be named the USS John Finn, the USS Ralph Johnson, and the USS Rafael Peralta, named after heroes in three different conflicts. The two littoral combat ships will be named after two American communities, the USS Sioux City and the USS Omaha. (Post)

Contracts: Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, N.Y., was awarded an $18.8 million modification to previously awarded contract to provide engineering and production planning services for mission packages that will deploy from and integrate with the Littoral Combat Ship. Twenty percent of the work will be done in Panama City, Fla. ... Signal Ship Repair LLC, Mobile, Ala., was awarded a $14.5 million contract to provide for the services in support of engine replacements, engine auxiliary systems modification and repair of dredge wheeler. Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala.

Week in review (2/5 to 2/11)

Moves to speed up the process of allowing unmanned aerial systems in the nation's airspace, rumblings that United Technologies is looking for a buyer for Rocketdyne, and fence-mending at a task force created to protect Florida bases were just some of the key stories during the week of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace region.

But first, for months now we've been flooded with stories about the Pentagon reductions. One of the more highly publicized cuts is the Air Force's decision to ax the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk Block 30 variant of the unmanned aerial surveillance system.

What I think escapes a lot of attention is the ripple effect from the loss of a particular program. The Block 30 is a case in point. Yes, it impacts Northrop Grumman and its operation in Moss Point, Miss., which builds the central fuselage. And certainly California, where it's all put together.

But that's not where it ends.

For the Air Force Global Hawk variant, there are 248 suppliers -- half of them small businesses -- in 36 states that employ more than 12,000 people and a total $3 billion economic impact. Add the Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance program to the mix, which is not being cut, and the supplier count rises to 312 in 42 states.

The biggest suppliers for the Global Hawk are Triumph Aerostructures, building wings; Aurora Flight Science, building the tail and other structures; and Rolls-Royce, which supplies the engines. The sensors for the various versions are built by Northrop Grumman in Sacramento, Calif. and Norwalk, Conn. and Raytheon in El Segundo, Calif.

The biggest supplier states, starting with the largest, are California, Indiana, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Ohio, West Virginia, Mississippi, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Arizona, and 21 others.

Keep that in mind the next time a particular weapon system is dropped.

- Robotic vehicles sharing the nation's airspace with passenger planes? Well it's bound to happen one day. Congress sent a bill to the president that, among other things, speeds up the process of allowing drones in the national airspace with airliners, business and private planes.

This shouldn't really be much of a surprise. Just look at the growth of the UAV industry. A bit more than a decade ago you could count on your hand the number of UAVs operated by the military. Today they’re commonplace in the military, and folks outside the military are interested in getting drones airborne. Right now the process of getting permission is long and drawn out. The idea behind all this is to make the process faster.

One of the deadlines in the bill is to establish six test sites within the next six months to work on the issue. We already have a few locations in this region where UAVs are permitted to fly, notably military airspace. (Post)

- Bloomberg reports that the Pentagon proposes in its new budget spending $1.2 billion for the first three NATO variant Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and three more Navy variants. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said this month it planned to buy five Alliance Ground System through 2017. The Navy already has two demonstration versions of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance System. (Post) AOL Defense also reported during the week that there are informal talks involving Australia and Japan to buy Global Hawks. (Post)


Base cuts
Seems like everything may be patched up with the Defense Support Task Force, the group created to help protect Florida's bases from cuts. The task force made as its first priority preventing the Air Force from placing Eglin Air Force Base's 46th Test Wing under the command of a two-star general at California's Edwards Air Force Base. They fear it's a first step toward moving the wing's research, development, test and evaluation function to California.

Early in the week State Sen. Don Gaetz was critical of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, and how she's handling her role as the state's advocate for the task force. By the end of the week Carroll told fellow task force members that she is, in fact, committed to preserve the Air Armament Center and 46th Test Wing at Eglin. Gaetz, who sponsored the bill creating the task force, said he welcomed her "change of view" on the Eglin issue, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. (Post)

- The Santa Rosa County Commission got an update on local plans to protect area bases from a possible Base Realignment and Closure round and other military cuts. A consultant praised the work that Santa Rosa County commissioners have done for nearly 10 years to purchase and preserve the land around Naval Air Station Whiting Field, which trains military aviators. A five-county delegation will go to Washington this month to meet with congressional leaders to discuss issues facing Northwest Florida military bases, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. (Post)


Companies
Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge in the matter, reported that United Technologies is studying the sale of a pump- and compressor-making division to raise money for the purchase of Goodrich Corp. But more interesting is UT is also looking for a buyer for Pratt and Whiteny Rocketdyne, which makes engines for civilian and military rockets. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne has an operation at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Goodrich owns the Alabama Service Center in Foley, Ala. (Post)


Airport
The old airport in Panama City was to be transferred to its new owners during the week. The sale will help the airport pay off a number of debts and eliminate monthly costs at the old site, according to the Panama City News Herald. St. Andrew Bay Land Co. plans a village-type development at the 700-acre site. Air operations transferred to the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport near West Bay on May 23, 2010. (Post)


Contracts
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $14.8 million modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract to procure long lead items for F-35 low rate initial production Lot 6 short take-off vertical landing aircraft for the Marine Corps. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center. … 2020 Co. LLC, Falls Church, Va.; Oasis Systems LLC, Lexington, Mass.; and COLSA Corp., Huntsville, Ala., each were awarded a $53.5 million contract for the Technical and Acquisition Management Support Program, which provides a wide range of diverse non-engineering, technical, and acquisition management support within the Air Armament Center and other organizations at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. AAC/PKES, Eglin, is the contracting activity. … The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded an $18.3 million contract for an acceleration effort, regression testing, and a fuze risk reduction effort. AAC/EDBK/EDBJ, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Sikorsky Support Services Inc., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded a $26 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance to support 161 T-34, 54 T-44, and 172 T-6 aircraft based primarily at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas; NAS Whiting Field, Fla.; and NAS Pensacola, Fla. Work is expected to be completed in April 2012.


Shipbuilding/maritime
- The next Independence variant of the littoral combat ship will be named the USS Gabrielle Giffords. The former Congresswoman survived a shooting at an event in Arizona in which several other people died. The 419-foot long ship, LCS 10, will be built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. (Post)

- The Navy has moved the June 2 commissioning of the USS Mississippi attack submarine from Gulfport, Miss., to nearby Pascagoula. The Navy had concerns about the channel depth in Gulfport. The sub was christened in Connecticut in December. (Post)

- Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., was awarded a $9 million modification to previously awarded contract for additional long lead time material in support of the LHA Replacement Flight 0 amphibious assault ship, LHA 7. Work will be done in Pascagoula and completed by May 2013.

Week in review (1/29 to 2/4)

Plans to reduce the number of aircraft at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., the promised addition an F-22 squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., NATO's decision to buy Global Hawk unmanned systems, another snag with the F-35, moves to create an even more powerful penetrator bomb and the final days of StenniSphere are some of the news items during the week of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace corridor.

High on everybody's list of important stories is anything related to the cuts being planned by the Pentagon. During the week the proposed 2013 military budget, designed to save the Air Force $8.7 billion over five years, was released.

In the Gulf Coast region, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., best known for its electronics training and home of the 403rd Reserve Wing, is scheduled to take a hit. It will lose 10 C-130Js in fiscal year 2014. The wing transports personnel and equipment and has been a major player in combat operations in Southwest Asia. There's no indication this will impact the Hurricane Hunters.

Further up state, Key Field Air National Guard in Meridian, will lose six C-27J in FY13 and one RC-26 in FY14. But those aircraft will be replaced by between nine and 11 MC-12s in FY14, which the Air Force said is a more capable plane.

As expected, the plan includes the retirement in FY13 of 18 Block 30 Global Hawks stationed at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. That's of interest to this region because fuselage work on the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk is done in Moss Point, Miss. (Post)

But on a positive note for the Global Hawk, NATO broke a nearly two decade logjam and agreed to jointly fund operations of an airborne ground- surveillance system. That means buying five Northrop Grumman Block 40 Global Hawks. The Alliance Ground Surveillance project will have its main base at Sigonella, Italy, and several associated command-and-control base stations. (Post)

- When the Air Force explains to Congress this month its rationale for a mission consolidation announced in November, the Florida delegation will be armed with questions supplied by two members of the Defense Support Initiative task force. The two men have worked for years with Okaloosa County Economic Development Council and were there when attempts were made to move the 46th Test Wing from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. According to the Northwest Florida Daily News, they see the consolidation as a step towards moving Eglin's valuable research, development, test and evaluation functions to Edwards. (Post)

- While everyone is paying close attention to cuts, one interesting item during the week had to do with growth. A new combat F-22 squadron will be coming to Tyndall Air Force Base in Northwest Florida, according to the commander of the 325th Fighter Wing. He said the first personnel will begin arriving in July and aircraft in January 2013, according to the Panama City News Herald. (Post)

- In another Tyndall-related item, Air Force engineers and researchers are hoping to find out whether a ceramic coating can help the military reach energy savings goals. Engineers at the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency will test the coating in April using two nearly identical buildings, according to the Air Force. (Post)

- All this activity at Tyndall might not surprise the new executive director of the Bay County Economic Development Alliance. Neal Wade told the Panama City News Herald that one of the reasons he took the job was his belief that Bay County is in a good position to be the next growth area in Northwest Florida.Wade, who said he hopes to snag a major aerospace company for a spot by the new airport in West Bay, said that with assets like the Air Force and Navy bases nearby and major defense contractors in the area, the West Bay area is ideal for an aerospace company to open up a new facility. (Post)


F-35
The force structure changes also affirms the Air Force's commitment to the F-35, despite the delays and cost issues. In the latest snag, F-35 fighters beginning Jan. 26 were grounded due to improper loading of parachutes in their ejection seats. It affects six aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., nine at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and three nearly completed planes at Lockheed's production facility in Fort Worth, Texas. (Post)

- Eglin is scheduled to get another 17 F-35 jets this year, according to a Lockheed Martin official who briefed the media in Northwest Florida during the week. Eglin, where pilots and maintainers from all branches of the military will be trained, already has three Marine Corps variants of the F-35 and six Air Force variants. Jets arriving this year will include the first Navy version, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. (Post)

- Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 had a change of command ceremony Friday. Lt. Col. David R. Berke took over command from Lt. Col. James B. Wellons. Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 is the first Marine Corps squadron to receive F-35B aircraft for pilot and maintainer training at the 33rd Fighter Wing F-35 Integrated Training Center. (Post)

- Here's one final item on the F-35. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products was awarded a $23.6 million contract by Lockheed Martin for production of more than two dozen GAU-22/A gun systems for the F-35. The GAU-22/A is a light-weight, four-barrel version of the GAU-12/U 25mm Gatling gun, which the company has made for more than 40 years. The GAU-22/A is mounted internally on the F-35A variant and externally on the B and C models. (Post)


Weapons
OK, since we just talked about a weapon, here's another weapon-related item.

The huge Massive Ordnance Penetrator is not capable of destroying the most fortified underground facilities, so the military wants to make it even more powerful, according to the Wall Street Journal. The 13.6-ton bunker buster is the nation's largest conventional bomb, but the Pentagon wants funding to enhance the bomb's ability to penetrate deeper into rock, concrete and steel before exploding. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is involved in developing MOP. (Post)


Space
More than 6,300 people applied to become a NASA astronaut, the second highest number of applications ever received by the agency. The highest response occurred in 1978 with 8,000 applicants. Nine to 15 people will be chosen to become part of the 21st astronaut class. NASA expects to announce a final selection in the spring of 2013. This region is involved in space programs through NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. (Post)


Companies
The ground work for the new GE Aviation in Ellisville is nearly complete and company officials will soon make a decision on a general contractor for the 300,000-square-foot plant in Ellisville, Miss., northeast of Hattiesburg. The $56 million project is in the Howard Technology Park, and is the second GE Aviation plant in Mississippi. The other, in Batesville, produces composite components for aircraft engines. Another GE Aviation plant is being built in Auburn, Ala. (Post)

- Aircraft company LSI, operating out of a 20,000 square-foot building in Pensacola, Fla., is weeks away from expanding into an adjacent 12,000 square-foot facility. The Pensacola News Journal reports that the operation has 40 employees and will add 20 or more over the next year. The operation converts Army helicopters that are no longer flight-worthy into ground-based platforms to train aviation technicians. (Post)


Education
The National Flight Academy will have a test class in March followed by its first full class in May, according to the Pensacola News Journal. The academy at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., is designed to pique the interest of students in science, technology, engineering and math. The 102,000 square-foot academy is designed to look like the inside of an aircraft carrier. The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation raised $18.5 million for construction of the academy and $15 million to outfit it. (Post)

Meanwhile, the Infinity Science Center near the Mississippi-Louisiana state line, south of Stennis Space Center, is getting ready to open in the spring. One of the biggest indicators of the progress was word that StenniSphere, the museum and visitor center inside SSC itself that opened in 2000, will close for good Feb. 15. Various exhibits are being moved into Infinity. The Infinity center will provide visitors with an entertaining way to learn about the STEM activities at Stennis Space Center. (Post)


Contracts
SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., was awarded a $13.2 million contract for the acquisition of a five-year research and development program. The Digital Video Laboratory (DVL) provides highly specialized hardware/software for data /video transmission, video compression, video data manipulation, image sensors, data/video storage, data/video retrieval and data/video searches. It will support the 46 Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. AAC/PKET, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … EADS - NA, Herndon, Va., was awarded a $10.1 million contract to provide for the modification of an existing contract for contract logistic support services. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2013. … Textron Defense Systems, Wilmington, Maine, was awarded a $13.6 million contract for 143 munition control units; 5 MCU test sets; 15 munitions application program cards; one wind corrected munitions dispenser dual system support simulator; one WCMD telemetry ground station; 10 WCMD telemetry kits; two instrumented measurement kits; and 1552 lanyard connectors. AAC/EBJK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Kaman Precision Products Inc., Orlando, Fla., was awarded a $24.2 million contract to provide the Air Force with 6,067 of the Joint Programmable Fuze Systems to meet munitions requirements. AAC/EBDK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … CSC Applied Technologies LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $26.9 million contract for the exercise of option for the base operating support service contract at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. 81 CONS, Keesler, is the contracting activity. … L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded a  $24 million contract to exercise an option for contractor logistics support and Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department support for the T-39 Undergraduate Military Flight Officer Training Program. This effort includes support of the UMFO government-owned T-39N and T-39G aircraft and associated equipment, including organizational and depot level repair. In addition, this provides intermediate level maintenance and support for Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft, transient aircraft, tenant, and other services activities at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and surrounding areas through the AIMD. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Fla. (75 percent), and Corpus Christi, Texas (25 percent).

Week in review (1/22 to 1/28)

In the Gulf Coast region, anything that comes down the pike about defense issues gets attention. That was the case Thursday when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gave an outline of cuts to come, and it will be the case next month when we get more details.

Panetta said the proposal will impact all 50 states and many congressional districts across America. And let's face it. We have a lot of potential targets in this region. There are 21 military installations between New Orleans and Panama City, Fla., along with military activities at non-DoD locations. We also have a lot of contractors, both traditional defense contractors and companies that provide services for the bases. We're talking a multibillion-dollar economic impact on this region.

And each of the states with a piece of this I-10 corridor also has military operations and defense contractors that account for billions in spending in other parts of the state. Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi all have bases and contractors that dependon the military budget. The Pentagon wants $525 billion for the military in 2013, $6 billion less than the current budget, and wants Congress to approve a new round of base closures. (Post)

Several bases in this region have already announced personnel cuts, and Northwest Florida sees a realignment of the materiel command announced in November as a threat to Eglin Air Force Base's research and development. Work is underway to protect that activity, which is crucial for attracting and retaining high-tech operations.

One company in this region that will feel an impact of the cuts announced Thursday is Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. The 15 Littoral Combat Ships that were to be purchased from 2013 to 2017 will be trimmed to 13, and eight of nine planned Joint High Speed Vessels will be cut. The proposal also delays by a year the start of construction for the Ingalls-built LHA-8 large-deck amphibious vessel, but the proposal doesn’t slow the Navy plans to buy additional Arleigh Burke-class DDG-51 destroyers built by both General Dynamics and Ingalls. (Post)

Another casualty of the budget cut is the Air Force's Block 30 variant of the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned surveillance plane. The central fuselage work for the Global Hawk is done in Moss Point, Miss., at a 101,000 square-foot facility that opened in 2006.

The Air Force has decided to keep using the U-2 spy plane, which the Global Hawk was supposed to replace. Plans were to buy 31 of the Block 30 variant. Northrop has delivered 14 and has a contract for seven more. The remaining 10 will be canceled.

Northrop, not surprisingly, said it's disappointed with the decision, but will work with the Pentagon to assess alternatives to the program's termination. Northrop pointed out that just a few months ago the Pentagon published an acquisition decision memorandum that said continuation of the program is essential to national security. (Post)

But the Block 40 variant of the Global Hawk is alive and well. In fact, the proposed fiscal 2013 budget includes $1.2 billion for three additional Block 40 variants, according to Bloomberg. (Post) The Air Force already has 11 of the latest models delivered or on contract. In addition, the Pentagon wants to continue an $11 billion Navy Global Hawk program, which involves 68 Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Global Hawk drones.

NATO's Alliance Ground Surveillance capability is also moving forward. A 13-nation deal should be signed before the next NATO summit in Chicago in May. That pending acquisition is valued at about $1.3 billion for five Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40 unmanned air vehicles, each equipped with a Northrop/Raytheon surveillance payload. (Post)

Also untouched was the Fire Scout program. The Navy plans to buy 168 of the unmanned helicopters, which are also made in part in Moss Point. And the models now in service have been busy. Two MQ-8B Fire Scouts are in a third operational deployment, this time aboard the USS Simpson. The Fire Scouts are providing the ship's sole aviation capability. (Post)


EADS
EADS named Tom Enders to take over as chief executive officer when Louis Gallois retires in May. Enders, nominated to a five-year term, was a strong advocate for Mobile, Ala., during the competition between EADS and Boeing to build Air Force tankers.

EADS planned to build a 1,500-worker assembly plant at Brookley Aeroplex to build tankers and freighters if it won the competition. Although EADS lost, it has continued to express interest in establishing an assembly facility in the United States because of a backlog of orders from airlines. (Post)


New programs
There was a grand opening during the week for the new 325th Air Control Squadron building at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Brig. The 36,000 square-foot building will be used to train air battle managers, who provide critical information about enemy activities to both air and ground forces. It's the only schoolhouse that will teach air battle managers in the country. (Post)

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is opening a Crestview, Fla., campus to meet a growing need for students in the north end of Okaloosa County. The school decided to open the campus because of the increase in aviation related jobs around the Crestview Airport and aviation related contracts in the area. The new campus is on the second floor of a building at the corner of South Ferdon Boulevard and Southview Drive. (Post)


Contracts
Raytheon Co., Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $17.4 million contract to provide test integration of software to enhance the system performance of the AIM 120D missile. AAC/EBAK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … L-3 Communications Corp., Systems Field Support, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $69.2 million contract to provide for the support of the worldwide fleet of C12/RC12/UC35 aircraft. Work will be performed in Madison, Miss. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (1/15 to 1/21)

More rumblings about a possible Airbus assembly plant in the United States, the arrival of another F-35 at Eglin Air Force Base, AirTran switching to Southwest Airlines in Pensacola and plans by Stennis Space Center to show off its J-2X rocket engine program highlighted the aerospace news for the Gulf Coast during the week.


A top EADS official said Airbus, which already has final assembly lines in France, Germany and China, may add one in the United States to increase visibility in the largest market for single-aisle planes. The comment came from Hans Peter Ring, chief financial officer of EADS, in an interview with Bloomberg. (Post)

Of course, EADS/Airbus would have had an assembly line in Mobile, Ala., had it not lost the Air Force aerial refueling tanker competition to Boeing. But the loss of the tanker project never killed the belief that Mobile would eventually get an aircraft assembly plant.

Last September Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told the Birmingham News that EADS was looking into whether it was feasible to build commercial airplanes in Mobile. During the tanker competition, the company had said it also would build freighters in Mobile if it won the tanker contract.

Both Airbus and Boeing have been saying for a while now that the demand for airliners is increasing. That's one reason GE Aviation is building new facilities in Hattiesburg, Miss., and Auburn, Ala. And the increasing activity likely is one reason Rolls-Royce is building a second engine test stand at Stennis Space Center, Miss. More planes means more engines.

Aviation Week, in an article called "12 for '12," focused on a dozen big developments that will occur in the aerospace and defense industry in 2012. Two of them are linked to the uptick of orders from airliners.

The article pointed out that Airbus and Boeing won an estimated 2,150 net orders for new jets in 2011, with Airbus alone booking three orders for every jet it produces. The challenge will be fulfilling all of those sales, particularly among suppliers. The related big development is aerospace consolidations. United Technologies Corp.'s $18.4 billion purchase of Goodrich, which has a service center in Foley, Ala., is likely will pass regulatory muster and close by May. The question is whether Honeywell, General Electric or other aerospace giants will move to counter UTC's new "super supplier." (Article)

If you follow the aerospace industry, you can see the activity increasing. Even though Boeing is shutting down its plant in Wichita, Kan., in 2013, the Wichita Eagle reports that Boeing plans to increase the amount it spends with Kansas suppliers by 50 percent over the next three years, from $3.2 billion to $4.8 billion. (Article)

In addition, Airbus said it will add A350-1000 fuselage work to the wing engineering work it does at Wichita’s Airbus North American Engineering center. The Wichita Business Journal reports that it will mean 30 engineering jobs. (Article)

So buckle up. We're in for a pretty active 2012.


F-35
There was plenty of news during the week for anyone following the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. People along the Gulf Coast are interested because Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the Integrated Training Center, the primary location to train pilots and maintainers for the plane.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta by the end of the week lifted the probation on the Marine Corps version of the F-35. The probation of the F-35B was put in place last year by then-Secretary Robert Gates because of technical issues of the most complex version of the single-seat jet fighter. (Post)

Coincidentally, a ninth F-35, this one the Marine Corps variant just mentioned, arrived at Eglin on Thursday after a flight from Texas. B-7, piloted Marine Corps Maj. Joseph Bachmann, is assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501. (Post)

Lockheed Martin is building three versions of the plane, the F-35A for the Air Force, the F-35C for the Navy and the F-35B for the Marines. Eglin now has three F-35B and six F-35As.

- The Air Force filed a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the establishment of a second F-35 pilot training center, and as expected Luke Air Force Base outside Phoenix, Ariz., is the preferred site. Plans are for 72 new F-35s at the base. The draft statement opened a 45-day public comment period ending March 14. A final decision is expected in July. (Article)

- Lockheed Martin is working on a solution to a problem with the tailhook on the Navy version of the F-35, the F-35C. Published reports said F-35C can't land on a carrier because the tailhook is too short, too close to the landing gear and can't grab arresting cables. Lockheed Martin said the problem is the design of the tailhook and a fix is underway. Tests will be done in the second quarter of the year. (Post)


Space
The media has been invited to NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss. to take a look Wednesday at the facilities used to test the J-2X engines that will be used with the Space Launch System. They'll see the test control center, the A-1 Test Stand and the facility where the final assembly is done on the J-2X. (Post)


Unmanned systems
Two members of Beale Air Force Base, Calif., became the first RQ-4 Global Hawk pilots in the new 18X career field during a winging Jan. 13. The new career field is designated for RPA pilots coming from non-rated career fields as well as newly commissioned officers. Portions of Global Hawks are built in Moss Point, Miss. (Post)


Airports/bases
Pensacola International Airport's Air Tran will be converting to Southwest Airlines, which bought AirTran in May. The change will occur over the next several months. That will give the Gulf Coast aerospace corridor three airports served by Southwest. The other locations are in Panama City, Fla., and New Orleans. (Post)

- Emerald Coast Aviation has closed its operations at Florida's Destin Airport. It subleased services for Miracle Strip Aviation, one of two fixed-base operators at the airport. Emerald Coast Aviation handled aircraft maintenance and repairs and flight instructions for Miracle Strip Aviation. It's still operating in Crestview and at the airport in Valparaiso. (Post)

- The National Transportation Safety Board found a near-midair collision at Mississippi's Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in June was likely caused by errors made by an air-traffic controller. The controller cleared a Cessna for takeoff and 16 seconds later cleared a Continental Express jet to take off on a different runway. While both aircraft were about 300 feet above the airfield the jet passed in front of the Cessna, coming as close as about 300 feet. (Post)

- The commander of the Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., issued a commentary during the week about the base's accomplishments in 2011. Maj. Gen. Kenneth Merchant listed the arrival of the first F-35 fighter, bed down of the Army's 7th Special Forces Group, and the base's multiple excellence awards. (Post)

Week in review (1/8 to 1/14)

If you follow aerospace activities in this region, you might do well to keep an eye on NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi. It was just last month that Blue Origin of Kent, Wash., said it would test its rocket engines at SSC. Now Rolls-Royce North America has decided to build a second stand to test its large airliner engines.

Rolls-Royce, which also operates a ship propeller foundry in Pascagoula, Miss., as part of its marine activities, plans to invest some $50 million on a second stand at SSC. That will add another 35 jobs to the 45 employees already working at the Outdoor Jet Engine Testing Facility that opened in 2007. That stand was the first outside the UK for Rolls-Royce. (Post)

In addition to the increased activity at SSC, the new Rolls-Royce stand will also mean more activity at Stennis International Airport, to the east of SSC. Rolls-Royces uses huge transport plans to ship those engines to and from Stennis Space Center.

So what's going on that’s caused all this new activity? Truth is, there's always been a lot going on at the 14,000-acre federal city, which is surrounded by a 125,000 acre acoustical buffer zone. But in recent years some steps have been taken that appear to put it on a growth track.

In November 2009, NASA identified some 3,900 acres at land that's ready for development. There's more land available, but this is the acreage near roads and utilities. Then the Army last year turned over a 1.6 million square-foot former munitions plant and surrounding acreage to NASA, increasing the space agency's building space by a third.

Not long after that, NASA sent out feelers to companies interested in taking over the under-utilized E-4 test facility, and made it a point to stress that the test stand can be modified for larger engines. Stennis Space Center Director Patrick Scheuermann said word is getting out about the test stands, the land available for development and the expertise at SSC, and commercial companies are showing interest.

"We had been hearing on sort of an infrequent basis," Scheuermann said in the January issue of the Alliance Insight, about companies interested in working with SSC, "but in the last couple of years the frequency has picked up quite a bit." (Post)

SSC is home not only to NASA and its propulsion testing capabilities, but 30 other federal and state agencies with science and technology operations. It's the home of the Navy's oceanographic operations, the National Data Buoy Center, the National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage, a Naval Research Lab detachment and more.

Hundreds of scientists and technicians are working in fields as varied as rocket propulsion, geospatial technologies, underwater research and more. Universities from two states have activities there, and SSC has one of the world's largest supercomputers there. It also has tight security and room to grow.

SSC hasn't developed like the area around Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and there are a lot of reasons behind that. But it does appear the time might have arrived for SSC. And having NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in nearby New Orleans certainly adds to the appeal.

So, as they say, stay tuned.

There were other SSC-related stories during the week. The relocation of the RS-25D space shuttle main engine inventory from Kennedy Space Center's Engine Shop in Cape Canaveral, Fla., to SSC is under way. Those engines will be used in NASA's Space Launch System, the new heavy-lift launch vehicle. SLS will carry the Orion spacecraft, its crew, cargo, equipment and experiments to destinations in deep space.

The 15 RS-25D engines are being transported on the 700-mile journey using existing transportation and processing procedures that were used to move engines between Kennedy and Stennis during the Space Shuttle Program. Each engine, built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, is 14 feet long and more than 7 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. (Post)

- Work is ramping up at the Orion spacecraft facility at Kennedy Space Center, expanding the spaceport's role beyond launch operations to include final assembly. About 260 people already work on Orion at KSC, and that will increase to about 400 by June in preparations for the first flight test of Orion. Meanwhile, technicians at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, are putting the finishing touches on the second Orion capsule, and will also be doing work on portions of the Space Launch System. "Orion will use MAF for construction of the crew module and other portions. KSC will be used for final assembly of the entire spacecraft," said Jennifer Morcone Stanfield, public affairs officer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. (Post)

- Applications close at the end of the month for a new group of astronauts to fly NASA's Orion capsule to points still to be decided. So far more than 1,300 people have applied, comparable to the response NASA received from its calls for space shuttle crews, according to Aviation Week. The first Orion flight on an Space Launch System is tentatively set for 2017. Orion and portions of the SLS are being built at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans; the propulsion systems for SLS are being tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)

- Science Applications International Corp. was awarded a contract to build out the Facilities Management Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Work will be done at MSFC and NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La. (Post)


Aircraft
Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., now has eight F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, even though they still haven't been given the go-ahead to begin flight training. Two Marine Corps versions of the Lockheed Martin F-35 short takeoff/vertical landing aircraft were delivered during the week. They landed after a 90-minute flight from Texas. Both fighters will be used for pilot and maintainer training at the new F-35 Integrated Training Center. (Post)

- Last September at an aerospace conference in Sandestin, Fla., speakers said the commercial aircraft sector is growing. During the week Reuters reported that Boeing and Airbus both had a record year for aircraft deliveries in 2011. The two rivals, both with operations in the Gulf Coast region, increased deliveries to airlines by around 3 percent versus 2010, and have set out plans for record production of short-haul passenger jets to meet demand from emerging markets. (Post)

Speaking of EADS, the Army awarded EADS North America a $212.7 million contract for 39 UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopters. Thirty-two of them will be produced in the Army's Security and Support Battalion configuration and will be used by the National Guard nationwide. The Lakotas are built at EADS North America's American Eurocopter facility in Columbus, Miss. EADS also has its Airbus Engineering Center and a maintenance operation in Mobile, Ala. (Post)

And at some point, Mobile could wind up with more EADS operations. Mobile is still considered the prime location should EADS eventually opt to put a wide-body aircraft manufacturing facility in the United States. If that should happen - and I'm betting it will - Mobile and the surrounding area will be as big a hotbed of active as Stennis Space Center.


Unmanned systems
Two speakers at the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council's symposium said the field of unmanned aerial systems is a target area for the state and Northwest Florida. Gray Swoope, president and CEO of Enterprise Florida said the development and operation of unmanned vehicles is one of the fastest growing fields in the country.

Mark Bontrager, vice president of Space Florida, said the federal government soon will designate six areas around the country for unmanned air flights, and he hopes one or more will be in Florida. The EDC already has made unmanned vehicles a priority and created a group last year focused on bringing more development to the area. (Post)

South Mississippi already has two areas approved for unmanned aerial system flights. One is at Stennis Space Center, the other in Jackson County, Miss., where Northrop Grumman builds portions of the Global Hawk and Fire Scout systems.


Military cuts
The Florida Defense Support Task Force, formed to protect Florida's military bases, in particular its role in research, development, test and evaluation, met for the first time during the week in Tallahassee, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News.

The group decided it needs to move quickly in light of streamlining of the Air Force Material Command announced in November. The group is concerned the changes could pave the way towards moving Eglin's RDT&E mission to California. (Post) That R&D activity is significant. The base spends between $600 million and $700 million every year on weapons-related RDT&E.

- Job cuts were announced for several Gulf Coast bases back in November, but some additional cuts are coming to Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Officials say 38 additional civilian positions will be eliminated along with the 68 previously announced, according to the Sun Herald and WLOX-TV. Keesler is a major technical training center for the Air Force. (Post)


Shipbuilding/maritime
The Austal USA-built Littoral Combat Ship Coronado was slated to be christened Saturday in Mobile, Ala. Designated LCS 4, Coronado is designed to operate in littoral seas and shallow water to counter mines, submarines and fast surface craft threats in coastal regions. Coronado is the second of the Independence-variant in the LCS class. (Post)

- The Navy is working with Huntington Ingalls to drive down costs on the CVN 78 aircraft carrier and Pascagoula, Miss.-built LPD amphibious ships under construction. Navy acquisition chief Sean Stackley discussed the topic at the Surface Navy Association's annual conference during the week, and said there has been some improvements. (Post)

- For NASA and the Navy, ensuring there's a pool of talent versed in science, technology, engineering and math is crucial, and both agencies have programs in place to pique the interest of students. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with a center at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and the Navy, a tenant at SSC, are reaching Mississippi students through several programs. (Post)

- Two oceanographers from NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., will chair a conference on ocean sensing and monitoring April 23-27 in Baltimore, Md. The International Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Defense Security and Sensing's fourth Ocean Sensing and Monitoring conference will be chaired by Weilin "Will" Hou and Bob Arnone, both oceanographers in the Oceanography Division at Naval Research Lab at SSC. The conference will focus on R&D efforts in the open and coastal ocean with respect to defense and security interests. (Post)


Contracts
Science Applications International Corp., Mclean, Va., was awarded a $10.6 million modification to a previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Deep Sea Operations Program to introduce surveillance that operates at extreme ocean depths to detect quiet submarines. Twenty-seven percent of the work will be done in Long Beach, Miss. Other work will be done in Virginia, California, Texas, Maryland and Florida. … Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Md., was awarded a $20.6 million modification to previously awarded contract for MK 41 Vertical Launching System production support material, interim support parts, and equipment in support of DDG 51 class construction. Fort Walton Beach, Fla., will perform 18.8 percent of the work. Other locations of performance are in Maryland, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Michigan and Clearwater, Fla.