Week in review (6/18 to 6/24)

The Paris Air Show is wrapping up this weekend, and the folks from this region who were there for the trade days – where all the business deals are done – are back now.

In the coming weeks we'll talk to our region's economic development folks to get a sense of what they took away from the 2017 Salon international de l’aeronautique et de l’espace de Paris-Le Bourget.

Some highlights from the show this year included a pilotless air taxi being developed by Airbus as well as talk of a return of a Concorde-like supersonic passenger jet. But the real star may have been the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The fighter has been at previous air shows, but this was the first time it did maneuvers showing just how capable it is, including vertical climbs and even square loops. While the plane was never intended to excel as a dogfighter – it's designed to kill the enemy from an extreme distance – it demonstrated at the air show that it’s got what it takes for close quarters fighting.

That demonstration was no doubt watched closely by the folks at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Now for your week in review:

Airbus/Safran

An electric taxiing solution called "eTaxi" received "authorization to market" approval by Airbus and Safran, for the A320 series of jetliners. eTaxi’s electric motors in the main landing gear, powered by electricity from the auxiliary power unit, allows an aircraft fitted with it to taxi without using its jet engines or requiring airport tractors or tugs.

eTaxi would be marketed as a money saving device that’s also more efficient than the usual method of moving a jetliner on the ground. As you know, both Airbus and Safran have operations in Mobile, Ala. (Post)

Bases

The 53rd Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., received a new commander during a ceremony during the week. Col. David Abba replaced Col. Adrian Spain. This marks a return to Eglin for Abba, who served in the 58th Fighter Squadron from January 2004 to June 2006. The 53rd Wing, the sole operational test wing for the U.S. Air Force, develops, tests, evaluates and delivers weapons systems. (Post)

-- The Air Force announced Friday that Brig. Gen. Shaun Q. Morris, selected to the grade of major general and the director of the Armament Directorate for the AF Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin will be going to command the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico. Also, Col. Anthony W. Genatempo, selected to the grade of brigadier general and currently the senior materiel leader and F-22 systems program manager for the Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, will be reassigned to Morris’ post at Eglin Air Force Base. (Post)

Airports

​Allegiant airline is returning to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport with twice-weekly, nonstop flights to Orlando beginning Aug. 30. Allegiant served the Gulfport-Biloxi market in 2007 but left a year and a half later. The state lured back the airline with a revenue guarantee administered by the Mississippi Development Authority. In the Gulf Coast I-10 region, Allegiant also serves New Orleans and Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (Post)

Contracts

Speegle Construction Inc., Niceville, Fla., was awarded a $13.6 million contract for facility additions at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Work will be performed in Hurlburt Field, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 13, 2018. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. … Lockheed Martin Corp. Rotary and Mission Systems, King of Prussia, Pa., was awarded a $7.2 million contract for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) Enterprise Management System (JEMS) 6.0. Contractor will provide enhancements to the software package known as the JASSM JEMS. Work will be performed in King of Prussia, and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2018. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Dynetics Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $10.9 million contract for Small Glide Munition (SGM) all-up-rounds (AURs). Work will be performed in Huntsville and is expected to be complete by June 29, 2018. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (6/4 to 6/10)

The week started out with the release of the sixth edition of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor book, and it's now available for download. The 100-page book, free to readers, details the aerospace and aviation activities in the region between Southeast Louisiana and Northwest Florida. To access the book, visit the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor website.

But there was a lot more aerospace news during the week. Here's your weekly review:

F-35

The Air Force temporarily grounded a squadron of F-35s at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., after five pilots reported symptoms consistent with oxygen deprivation, the service said Friday.

The 56th Fighter Wing canceled local flying operations for its F-35A fighters after five incidents since May 2 where pilots experienced symptoms similar to hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. Each time the F-35's back-up oxygen system kicked in and pilots were able to land the plane.

Flight operations are scheduled to return Monday. F-35 operations at five other bases are not affected. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. (Post)

Navy T-45s recently has also had issues with oxygen deprivation.

Airports

Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport will receive $2.1 million and Pensacola International Airport will receive $43,796 in grant money from the Department of Transportation. The Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport will use the money to rehabilitate 2,000 feet of taxiway, and Pensacola International will use its grant to remove obstructions on land acquired for further airport development. The money is expected to be disbursed before September. (Post)

Space

Air Force Reservist Lt. Col. Robert Hines Jr., a test pilot at the 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., was among 12 selectees named to the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class.

Hines serves as an F-15E Strike Eagle program test director and test pilot at the F-15 Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force for the 84th TES. In civilian life, Hines is a full-time NASA research pilot. Hines, who has flown 76 combat missions, will report for duty in August for two years of astronaut training. (Post)

Education

One hundred and nine graduates received degrees last weekend as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide held its Pensacola commencement exercises June 3 in the Blue Angels Atrium of the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

The Pensacola campus, located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, offers associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as undergraduate certification. (Post)

Bases

Col. Debra Lovette took command of the 81st Training Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., during a June 2 ceremony. The outgoing commander, Col. Michele Edmondson, will be the new executive officer to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

The 81st TRW provides technical training for officers, enlisted and civilians of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserves and other Defense Department agencies. (Post)

-- Two 815th Airlift Squadron crews from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., participated in a six-ship multinational airborne mission in the Normandy region June 4, 2017 to commemorate D-Day 73.

C-130J Super Hercules crews from the 815th AS joined the 37th AS from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, as well as French and German C-160s to drop 451 U.S., French, British, Dutch and German paratroopers and re-enactors. The aircraft followed the same route C-47s did to drop paratroopers on D-Day.

The 815th AS, assigned to the Reserve 403rd Wing at Keesler, is one of nine historical units that took part in various events and ceremonies throughout the region. Now a C-130J tactical unit, the 185th AS was the 815th Bombardment Squadron during World War II.

It was in 1944 that paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Infantry Divisions dropped into France in the opening moments of what would become known as “The Longest Day.” (Story)

Contracts

Woolpert Inc., Dayton, Ohio, Stanley-UC-Cardo JV, Muscatine, Iowa, HDR Engineering Inc., Omaha, Neb., have been awarded a combined $40 million multiple award contract for architectural-engineering services. Work will be performed at various U.S. and international locations including Hurlburt Field, Fla., and is expected to be complete by May 31, 2022. The 765th Specialized Contracting Flight, Hurlburt Field, is the contracting activity.

Week in review (5/28 to 6/3)

Want to get a better handle on all the aerospace and aviation activities in the Gulf Coast region?

The sixth edition of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor book will be published next week, and it's filled with updated information about the aerospace and aviation activities in the Interstate 10 region between Southeast Louisiana and Northwest Florida.

The first book was published in 2011, and it was an annual until 2015, when we shifted to biennial publication for the 2017 issue.

You'll be able to download a copy next week at the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor website. So how much does it cost? It's free to readers, thanks to the support of our underwriters. Many of them have supported this ongoing research project for multiple years. We also have some new underwriters this year.

I should also mention our underwriters provide support sight-unseen. They all believe in the value of a third party telling the story. So, forgive me if I say, we wrote the book.

Now for your week in review:

Relocation

The 524th Special Operations Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., is relocating to Duke Field near Crestview. Once here, it will become part of the 492nd Special Operations Wing.

Cannon celebrated the heritage of the 524th SOS and the C-146 Wolfhound at an end-of-mission ceremony May 31, where the squadron guidon was turned over the 492nd SOW. The move to Duke Field has been under discussion for more than four years. (Post)

Contracts
L3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded an $83 million modification to a previously awarded contract activity to exercise an option for the organizational and depot level logistics services required to support and maintain the TH-57 fleet. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla., and is expected to be completed in May 2018. … Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Fla., was awarded a $413.8 million contract for Lot 15 Joint Air-to -Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) production. Contractor will provide 360 JASSM-ER missiles and tooling and test equipment. Work will be performed at Orlando and is expected to be complete by Aug. 31, 2020. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity … Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $244.3 million modification to a previously awarded delivery order issued against a basic ordering agreement. This modification provides for the procurement of initial air vehicle spares in support of the F-35 for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense participants, and foreign military sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Texas, California, New York, the United Kingdom, New Hampshire, Florida, Iowa, Arizona, Connecticut, the Netherlands, Illinois and Georgia. Work is expected to be completed in June 2021. … Geocent LLC, Metairie, La., was awarded a $15.6 million contract for platform integration and systems engineering support to provide design, engineering, integration, and advanced concept development for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for the Department of Defense. All work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and work is expected to be completed May 31, 2019. … Global Connections to Employment Inc., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded a $10.5 million modification to a contract for dining facility and cooking support services for Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the contracting activity.