Week in review (7/2 to 7/8)

One story that got a lot of attention during the week was the fire at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in the air-handling system of a building near the McKinley Climatic Laboratory. The fire caused the release of a toxic chemical, methylene chloride.

Just how much was released won’t be known for a while, but it did lead to a number of people going to hospitals to get checked out. The fire did cause a large, dark plume near the lab.

Methylene chloride is used to lower temperatures in the lab where tests are conducted to gauge the impact of extreme temperatures on everything from snow tires to airplanes. The refrigerant is a known carcinogen.

Bases

Naval Air Station Whiting Field secured an easement to help protect the training mission of the installation last month. The contract provides for an easement over 163 acres of undeveloped property adjacent to the northern boundary of Navy Outlying Landing Field Pace.

The easement issues protections that ensure incompatible development of the land cannot occur in the future. The property is under flight tracks for the helicopter training that occurs at NOLF Pace, helping to ensure that future construction does not occur under Accident Potential Zones (APZs) or clear zones.

The easement was purchased for $571,000, with 75 percent paid by the Navy. Santa Rosa County picked up the rest of the cost. (Post)

-- Members of Eglin’s 33rd Fighter Wing are at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., to participate in a major training exercise. Officials aid 120 members of the F-35 squadron will join the Red Flag exercise. It’s the first time the Nomads have taken part in a Red Flag since the squadron began flying F-35s in 2009. (Post)

-- The first F-35A pilot has been chosen to join the Air Force Thunderbirds. He’s Capt. Stephen Del Bagno of the 58th Fighter Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., who will fly the No. 4 slot position. The commander of the Air Combat Command, Gen. Mike Holmes, officially selected seven pilots on June 30 to join the flying demonstration team for the 2018 season. The 58th FS is part of the 33rd Fighter Wing, which trains pilots and maintenance personnel. (Post)

Airports

The Mississippi congressional delegation announced 42 grants valued at $7.54 million for airports throughout the state, including at two in South Mississippi. Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport will receive $2.35 million from the Federal Aviation Administration for taxiway widening, runway rehabilitation and security enhancement.

The grant also provides partial reimbursement for work completed in 2014. The City of Picayune was awarded $162,540 for the Picayune Municipal Airport to fund Phase 2 and 3 of a taxiway construction program to improve access to aircraft hangars, including design and wetlands mitigation. (Post)

F-35

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded multiple contracts during the week, including one for $5.6 billion, related to the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter.

The $5.6 billion contract was a modification to a previously awarded low-rate initial production Lot 11 advance acquisition contract. It provides for the procurement of 74 fiscal 2017 aircraft, comprised of 48 F-35A aircraft for the Air Force, 18 F-35B aircraft for the Marine Corps, and eight F-35C aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps.

Work will be performed in Texas, California, Florida, New Hampshire, Maryland, the United Kingdom and Italy, and is expected to be completed in December 2020.

The company also was awarded a $50 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the F-35 fighter verification simulation (VSim) / F-35 in-a-box software model development, integration and support. Work will be performed in Texas, Maryland and California and is expected to be completed in April 2018.

The company also was awarded a $44 million modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract. It provides additional funding for long-lead time materials, parts, components, and effort for production of five additional low-rate initial production Lot 12 F-35B aircraft. Work will be performed in Texas, California, Florida, New Hampshire, Maryland, the United Kingdom and Japan, and is expected to be completed in December 2017.

Finally, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. was awarded a $30 million to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract for additional engineering and hardware assembly services in support of the F-35 low-rate initial production Lot 11 aircraft for the government of Japan under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Japan and Maryland, and is expected to be completed in December 2018.

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity for all four contracts.