Week in review (11/26 to 12/2)

A new wing at Tyndall Air Force Base, an award for a Hurlburt Field gunship crew and the installation of a pathfinder RS-25 on the SLS core stage at Michoud were among the news items during the week of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace corridor.

Here's your week in review:

Bases The Air Force picked Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., as the preferred location for hosting a new MQ-9 Reaper Wing with 24 remotely piloted aircraft. Vandenberg AFB, Calif., is considered a reasonable alternative.

The wing will be composed of an operations group with mission control elements as well as a launch and recovery capability, and a maintenance group. Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said Tyndall best meets the requirements for the Reaper, including fewer aircraft competing for air space, nearby training ranges, great weather and lower up-front costs.

Based on current projections, airmen are expected to begin arriving at the new location as early as 2020. The first aircraft are expected to arrive in 2022. (Post)

-- Fourteen AC-130U gunship crewmembers provided close-air-support to a U.S. Special Forces team and 43 Afghan soldiers near Kunduz, Afghanistan Nov. 2, 2016. The crew's persistent fire support, presence of mind and courage during two hours of intense combat ultimately saved 50 lives.

For their actions the aircrew of the AC-130U gunship known as "Spooky 43" were presented the 2016 Mackay Trophy by Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen W. Wilson at an awards ceremony in Arlington Nov. 29. The crew is based at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

The Mackay Trophy was first awarded in 1912 and honors the most meritorious Air Force flight of the previous year. (Post)

Space

Engineers at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans are using a pathfinder RS-25 engine to practice the installation of engines on the Core Stage of the Space Launch System (SLS).

Each core will receive four RS-25s, currently undergoing test firings at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., ahead of a path that will see them being shipped to MAF. The installation of all four RS-25s on the Core Stage will be a major milestone on the path to Exploration Mission-1, the first launch of SLS.

Test firings at the Stennis Space Center (SSC) continue to serve toward the readiness of that milestone, with the first four flight engines now closing in on shipping to MAF to be installed on Core Stage -1 (CS-1). Those engines, all Space Shuttle veterans, are E2045 in position 1, E2056 in position 2, E2058 in position 3, and E2060 in position 4.

All four of these RS-25s will remain at SSC until MAF engineers have completed the work on CS-1. The latest schedule shows the four engines will make the journey to New Orleans in May of next year. (Post)

F-35 contracts

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $353.2 million modification to a previously awarded contract that provides for performance based logistics sustainment in support of the F-135 propulsion system in support of the F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participants and foreign military Sales (FMS) customers.

This modification provides for maintenance of support equipment, common program activities, unique and common base recurring sustainment, repair of repairable, field service representatives, common replenishment spares, conventional take-off and landing/carrier variant F-135 unique maintenance services, and short take-off and landing F-135 unique services.

Among the work sites is Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and work at all locations is expected to be completed in November 2018. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)

In addition, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $37.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for software conversions for structure and systems datasets in support of Lot 10 production for the F-35 joint strike fighter.

Work will be performed in Texas and the United Kingdom, and is expected to be completed in June 2020. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. (Post)

Other contracts

Bering Sea Environmental LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded an $8.9 million modification to a previously awarded contract for Air Combat Command's air combat training system operations and maintenance. Among the bases where work will be done are Eglin Air Force Base and Tyndall Air Force Base, both in Northwest Florida. The expected completion date is Dec. 31, 2020. ACC, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Hampton, Va., is the contracting activity. … Cubic Defense Applications Inc., San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $14.8 million multiyear contract for contractor logistics support. It provides for comprehensive, effective, and quality contractor logistics support for the Saudi Arabian P5 combat training system to sustain operational tempos currently located at several bases in Saudi. Work will be performed in Saudi Arabia, with an expected completion date of Feb 28, 2022. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Kaman Precision Products, Orlando, Fla., and Middletown, Conn., has been awarded a $85.2 million contract for delivery of lot 13 of the joint programmable fuze, FMU-52 and corresponding production, test and engineering support. Work will be performed in Orlando and Middletown with an expected completion date of Feb. 28, 2019. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.