Week in review (3/25 to 3/31)

The week was heavy with contract activity for the Gulf Coast aerospace region. But there were some non-contract news items as well.

Here's your week in review:

Bases

Devices that rely on Global Positioning System technology may be affected during upcoming military testing and evaluation in the Gulf of Mexico and Choctawhatchee Bay, according Eglin Air Force Base. There will also be an increase in aircraft noise during the testing beginning Sunday through Friday.

The work by Eglin’s 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group is scheduled from 8 a.m.- noon during each of the six days. During the testing period, fighter aircraft will release munitions about 20 nautical miles south of Destin over the Gulf.

During the testing, boats traveling in formation will move between the Mid-Bay Bridge and the Clyde B. Wells Bridge at U.S. Highway 331 between 1 and 5 p.m. The formation will be used as visual targets by military aircraft flying over the area. No weapons or ammunition will be involved, but some boats will have fake deck guns and rocket launcher tubes on board. The boats will also use marine flares as visual markers. (Post)

Airports

United Airlines has committed to offering service for several more years at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) near Panama City Beach, Fla. The Airport Authority board approved an airline-airport use and lease agreement with United Airlines.

A representative of United Airlines, which has served the airport since March 2015, has advised airport officials the company intends to sign the agreement in the next 45 days, airport officials said. The agreement expires Sept. 30, 2020, but United already is discussing a new agreement once that time comes, airport Executive Director Parker McClellan told the board. There are four major carriers at the airport: American, Delta, Southwest and United. (Post)

Contracts

B3 Enterprises LLC, Woodbridge, Va., was awarded a $9.9 million contract for refuel and defuel support services for the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort Rucker, Ala. Work will be performed in Fort Rucker, with an estimated completion date of March 30, 2025. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Va. is the contracting activity. … Reliance Test & Technology, Crestview, Fla., was awarded a $227.4 million modification to a previously awarded contract for Eglin Operation and Maintenance Support Service. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be complete by March 31, 2020. Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. … Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, King of Prussia, Pa., was awarded a $10.9 million contract for Joint Air-to-Air Surface Standoff Missile Enterprise Management System 7.0. This contract provides for enhancements to the software package known as the JASSM Enterprise Management System. Work will be performed in King of Prussia and is expected to be complete by March 29, 2019. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Eaton Aerospace LLC, Jackson, Miss., was awarded a maximum $37.9 million contract for axial piston pumps. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Mississippi, with a Sept. 30, 2024, performance completion date. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Mich. … Electronic Metrology Laboratory LLC, Franklin, Tenn., was awarded a $10.6 million modification under a previously awarded contract to exercise Option Four for base operations support services at Naval Air Station Whiting Field and outlying fields. Work will be performed in Milton, Fla. (80 percent); and outlying fields (20 percent). Work is expected to be completed in March 2019. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (3/18 to 3/25)

A decision by Boeing not to appeal an ITC ruling, a new agreement between Stennis Space Center and Relativity Space, and another milestone for the F-35 were among the news items this week of interest to the Gulf Coast region.

Here's your week in review:

Space

Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Los Angeles-based Relativity Space, a startup developing small launch vehicles using additive manufacturing technologies, have entered an agreement that authorizes the startup to have exclusive use of the E-4 Test Complex for 20 years.

The complex features four cells for engine tests and 15,000 square feet of office space, with the option to expand the use of the facility from about 25 acres to 250 acres. The new agreement will help Relativity expand its test efforts, which include the qualification and acceptance tests of up to 36 of the company's Terran small launch vehicles.

Relativity is under a separate Space Act agreement with Stennis for the use of the center’s E-3 test stand, which has supported 85 tests of the firm's Aeon 1 engine to date. Tim Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Relativity, said the startup will continue using E-3 while it builds up E-4, then use both facilities in parallel in the future.

Relativity's Terran rocket will work to carry up to 2,755 pounds of payload at $10 million per launch. Ellis said the company will develop a single manufacturing facility that would allow it to produce the Terran rocket, but the company hasn't decided where that facility will be located. (Post)

The decision to use the E-4 test stand is a major deal for SSC. Back in 2011 SSC started looking for industries that might be interested in using the under-utilized test stand, saying it was a "great opportunity."

The stand, in addition to the work area and offices, has a barge canal access. Projects conducted at the E-4 Test Facility also have the ability to access Stennis onsite amenities and support capabilities, including cafeteria, medical clinic, laboratory, component, information technology, institutional and other services.

Bombardier

Boeing won't appeal the U.S. trade commission ruling that allows Canada's Bombardier to sell its newest jets to U.S. airlines without heavy duties, according to a company spokesman. The decision puts the trade challenge to rest.

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted in January to reject Boeing's complaint and discarded a Commerce Department recommendation to slap a near 300 percent duty on sales of the 110- to 130-seat Bombardier CSeries jets for five years. The ITC felt the sale to Delta Air Lines had no impact on Boeing’s revenue since it doesn’t have a jet that competes with the CSeries.

The smaller end of the jet market is an increasing focus for the major manufacturers. Airbus has agreed to take a majority stake in the CSeries in a deal expected to close later this year where CSeries jets will also be assembled in Mobile, Ala. Boeing is in tie-up talks with Brazilian jet maker Embraer. (Post)

F-35

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed fleet carrier qualifications (CQ) for the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter program while underway March 17-21 in the Atlantic Ocean.

Pilots of the "Rough Raiders" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125 at Lemoore, Calif., and the "Grim Reapers" of VFA 101 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., performed day and night CQs with 140 traps in anticipation of F-35C’s operational testing later in 2018.

By 2025, the Navy's aircraft carrier air wings are scheduled to consist of F-35Cs, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers electronic attack aircraft, E-2D Hawkeye battle management and control aircraft, MH-60R/S helicopters and carrier on board delivery logistics aircraft. (Post)

In addition, there were two contracts related to the F-35.

In one, United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $239.7 million advanced acquisition contract for long-lead materials, parts, and components for 137 low rate initial Production Lot 12 F135 propulsion systems for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participants, and foreign military sales (FMS) customers. This includes 46 F135-PW-100 propulsion systems for the Air Force; 20 F135-PW-600 propulsion systems for the Marine Corps; four F135-PW-100 propulsion systems for the Navy; 63 F135-PW-100 and four F135-PW-600 propulsion systems for non-U.S. DoD participants and FMS customers.

In the other, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded and $8.5 million modification to a previously issued order against a basic ordering agreement. This order authorizes award of additional unique F-35 Joint Strike Fighter distributed mission training capability efforts for the Navy, Marine Corps, and the government of the United Kingdom.

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

Other contracts
Raytheon Missile Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $523.1 million modification to a previously awarded contract for Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile Production Lot 31. This contract involves foreign military sales to Japan, Kuwait, Poland, Indonesia, Qatar, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Dominance Contracting Office, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Airbus Helicopters Inc., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $116.9 million contract modification for the procurement of 16 UH-72A aircraft. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 20, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. … Atmospheric Science Technology LLC, Norman, Okla., was awarded a $7 million contract that will provide weather observing and forecasting services as required by the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Work will be performed at a variety of sites, including New Orleans, La. (4.30 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (4.24 percent); North Whiting Field, Fla. (3.62 percent); and South Whiting Field, Fla. (3.06 percent). Other sites are in Washington, Virginia, Cuba, other locations in Florida, California, Texas, Maryland, Nevada and Mississippi. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk Contracting Department, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity. … Sierra Nevada Corp., Sparks, Nev., was awarded a $20 million modification to a previously awarded contract for AC-130J and AC-130W contractor logistics support for the Precision Strike package. Work will be performed at Canon Air Force Base, N.M.; and Hurlburt Air Force Base, Fla. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity.

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

Florida Gov. Rick Scott approved $3 million in the state's FY19 budget for improvements at Pensacola International Airport. The announcement comes on the heels of an announcement last week of the award of a $4 million Florida Job Growth Infrastructure grant from the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO).

The money from this appropriation will be used together with the money from the DEO grant to fund the development of infrastructure that will support the expansion of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities at the airport. (Post)

Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward pointed out that three year ago he announced the agreement with VT MAE to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at the airport. "Next month that facility will be operational, and the dream of hundreds of new, sustainable, well-paid jobs in a new industry will become a reality."

VT MAE’s primary MRO facility is at the Mobile Aeroplex in Alabama.

Airbus

Speaking of Mobile, Airbus earlier this week said the new aviation experience center to be built near where Airbus assembles A320 series jetliners will be named Flight Works Alabama. The name represents a number of different aspects of the center’s mission, said Airbus Americas Chairman and CEO Jeff Knittel.

"We are convinced visitors to Flight Works Alabama will walk away with greater knowledge and appreciation of how aviation enriches everyone’s lives," he said.

In May 2017, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced the intent to build the hands-on instructional facility, with the goal to bolster Alabama's workforce development efforts and inspire young people to pursue careers in aerospace.

Flight Works Alabama will be a 19,000 square foot center housing a large interactive exhibition area, classrooms, a collaboration room, a workshop, a restaurant and a gift shop. It will serve as a gateway for public tours of Airbus’ A320 family assembly line.

Groundbreaking is expected in the summer with the grand opening in 2019. (Post)

F-35 contracts

Three contracts were awarded during the week for the F-35 project, which is important to this region since Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. Two of the contracts were for Lockheed Martin, one for United Technologies.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded two. One was a $1.5 billion modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract for long lead material and parts for low rate initial production (LRIP) of F-35 Lightning II air systems in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participants; and foreign military sales (FMS) customers. This modification provides for 145 Lot 13 aircraft for the services, non-U.S. DoD participants and FMS customers; and 69 Lot 14 aircraft for the non-U.S. DoD participants and FMS customers. It combines purchase for the Air Force (24 percent); the Marine Corps (11 percent); the Navy (3 percent); and the non-U.S. DoD participants (44 percent); and FMS customers (18 percent).

Lockheed Martin also was awarded a $482 million delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement. This order provides for the procurement of initial air vehicle spares in support of the F-35 Lightning II for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy; non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participants, and foreign military sales (FMS) customers. This order combines purchases for the Air Force (33.92 percent); Marine Corps (13.43 percent); Navy (9.45 percent); non-U.S. DoD participants (29.58 percent); and FMS customers (13.62 percent).

A third contract was awarded to United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., this one a $21.6 million task order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement. This task order provides for non-recurring engineering for early identification, development, and qualification of corrections to potential and actual operational issues, including safety and reliability and maintainability problems identified through fleet usage, Accelerated Mission Testing, and Lead-the-Fleet programs. This order combines purchases for the Navy (45.6 percent); Air Force (13.9 percent); non-U.S. DoD participants (22.8 percent); and FMS (17.7 percent), under the Foreign Military Sales program.

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

Other contract

Alion Science and Technology Corp., McLean, Va., was awarded a $13.5 million contract for development, integration, testing and evaluation of prototype systems for existing or emerging unmanned vehicles, unmanned weapons and unmanned weapons control systems related to mine warfare, amphibious warfare, surface warfare, diving and life support, coastal and underwater intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and other missions in the littoral and riverine environments. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Med-Eng LLC, Ogdensburg, N.Y., was awarded a $15 million contract for explosive ordnance disposal bomb suits. This contract provides for the delivery of a full bomb suit ensemble and associated accessories. The 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

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

The Navy plans to replace the TH-57 training helicopter with a commercially available helicopter, according to Seapower magazine. Rear Adm. Scott D. Conn, the Navy's director of air warfare, told the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee that it's a new approach to replace the 115 training helicopters.

A competition will be held then a winner chosen. The TH-57 Sea Ranger, derived from the Bell 206, has trained rotary-wing pilots for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard since 1968. It's flown by three helicopter training squadrons at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla. (Post)

-- A test was conducted recently at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to validate the sympathetic reaction of a new safety-oriented explosive. It was co-developed by the Air Force Research Lab and Aerojet Rocketdyne.

The MNX-770 Mod 1 explosive is being developed for use in 500-pound BLU-111 (Mk-82) and 1000-pound BLU-110 (Mk-83) general purpose bombs. The explosive employs characteristics that make it less prone to unintended detonation than the currently-employed PBXN-109, while retaining the same lethality. (Post)

-- The Blue Angels’ 2018 air show season begins today at El Centro Naval Air Facility, Calif., and concludes Nov. 2-3 with the Homecoming show at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The Pensacola Beach air show is July 14. There's another air show on the Gulf Coast July 21-22 in Biloxi, Miss. (Post)

-- Brig. Gen. Sean M. Farrell, director, strategic plans, programs and requirements, Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla., has been assigned as director, Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. (Post)

-- The 43rd Fighter Squadron graduated 13 F-22 Raptor Basic Course students during a March 2 ceremony. The students completed a course of instruction that included academics, examinations, sorties and simulator missions. With completion of the course the new F-22 pilots are now prepared to begin mission qualification training in their combat unit. (Post)

Airports

Nearly $23 million in awards for eleven Florida Job Growth Grant Fund projects across the state were announced during the week by Gov. Rick Scott. Among the awards are aerospace-related projects for Pensacola and Marianna in Northwest Florida.

Pensacola will get $4 million to develop additional taxiways, ramp construction and expansion for future development at Pensacola International Airport. Marianna will get nearly $2 million to extend the runway at Marianna Airport Commerce Park to 6,000 feet, which will allow the airport to accommodate larger business jets. (Post)

-- Okaloosa County's lease of 130 acres of Eglin Air Force Base land that contains the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport will be extended by 25 years and expire on July 30, 2063. The extension was part of a lease amendment the County Commission unanimously approved earlier in the week. (Post)

F-35 contracts

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded two contracts for the F-35 program. In one, the company was awarded a $24.9 million modification to a previously awarded contract to update and revise F-35A integration requirements in accordance with the letter of offer and acceptance in support of the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Japan, Texas and Florida, and is expected to be completed in March 2021. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

In the other, the company was awarded $24 million for a modification to a previously issued delivery order placed against basic ordering agreement. This modification provides for the procurement of Integrated Core Processor prototypes to support laboratory system integration for all Joint Strike Fighter aircraft variants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in April 2019. 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.

Other contracts

Airbus Helicopters Inc., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $273.3 million contract for procurement of 35 UH-72A aircraft. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss., with an estimated completion date of March 8, 2021. U.S. Army Contracting Command , Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (2/25 to 3/3)

There were two announcements during the week related to growth of the aerospace region. Mobile, Ala.-based AeroStar announced plans to more than double its facility and the number of employees over the next several years at the Mobile Aeroplex. The company has maxed out its 6,000-square-foot facility.

It will add another 16,875-square-foot building next to the existing one. AeroStar performs hydraulic, pneumatic and electro-mechanical commercial aircraft maintenance on all Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier aircraft.

The company has 22 employees and will add 28 new positions. The $2 million investment includes land, construction costs, machinery and equipment. Work is set to begin in March with a completion date anticipated before year-end 2018. (Post)

-- The addition of American Airlines service at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in West Bay, northwest of Panama City, Fla., combined with increasing flights on other airlines, has resulted in crowded gate and office space.

"We are reaching the constraints of the terminal," Airport Executive Director Parker McClellan said after an airport authority board meeting. "I'm working with our staff and a consultant for future development (of the terminal)," McClellan said. (Post)

Military

The Hurricane Hunters of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron performed weather reconnaissance of atmospheric rivers. It was done in partnership with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Atmospheric rivers carry water vapor in streams through the sky. The squadron has flown six missions totaling 92 hours, launching WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft from Hawaii and California for four of the missions. (Post)

Space

The giant aircraft being developed by Stratolaunch as part of an air-launch system is one step closer to its first flight after a new series of taxi tests. The company that it performed a series of medium-speed taxi tests of its aircraft Feb. 24 and 25 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

Funded by billionaire Paul Allen, Stratolaunch's giant plane – the largest by wingspan – was initially designed to carry modified versions of rockets from other companies. But now it’s considering developing its own launch system. The company has hired propulsion engineers and has a Space Act Agreement with NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., to use a test stand there for testing its propulsion system. (Post)

F-35 contracts

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., of Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded three contracts related the F-35. In one, the company was awarded a $158.3 million delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement related to the F-35. It also was awarded $148.7 million for a modification to a previously awarded contract to provided additional recurring logistics services for delivered F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense, and foreign military sales customers. The company also was awarded $7.4 million contract modification to provide funding for sustainment services in support of the F-35 aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, and Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Other contracts

Pride Industries, Roseville, Calif., was awarded an $8.4 million contract modification for base operations. Work will be performed in Fort Rucker, Ala., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2018. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Rucker, is the contracting activity. … Druck LLC, Billerica, Mass., was awarded a $19 million contract for the procurement of about 819 engineering change kits to upgrade air data test sets in support of a range of aircraft. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, New Orleans, La., and Leicestershire, United Kingdom, and is expected to be completed February 2023. … Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $77.4 million contract to exercise an option to a previously awarded contract for Small Diameter Bomb (SBD) II. Work will be performed in Tucson and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2020. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Alpha-Omega Change Engineering Inc., Williamsburg, Va., was awarded an $8.5 million modification to a previously awarded contract for F-15E, F-16 and F-22A aircrew training and courseware development. Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is one of the locations where work will be performed