Week in review (3/22 to 3/28)

It was a shocking story right from the start, and got more so by the end of the week.

I'm talking about the Germanwings A320 that crashed in the French Alps Tuesday, killing 150 people. Some of the initial reports, of course, talked about the 24-year-old plane itself, and pointed out that it was inspected as recently as the day before the crash.

But by the end of the week it was clear that this was no accident and nothing was wrong with the plane itself. German co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the pilot out of the cockpit when the pilot left him alone at the controls. He took the plane, on a flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Duesseldorf, Germany, on an intentional eight-minute descent that ended in rugged terrain on the side of a mountain. (Post)

The crash was of interest to this region because of the type of plane. Airbus will be opening an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., later this year.

-- In another story during the week, Airbus said it delivered its 9,000th aircraft, an A321, to Vietnamese carrier VietJetAir. Airbus delivered its first A300 in 1974, and its lineup today includes the A320 family and the world’s largest aircraft, the double deck A380. Over the last 10 years, Airbus has doubled its deliveries to reach over 600 aircraft a year today. (Post)

-- Also during the week, we learned that machinists at the Boeing plant in North Charleston, S.C., will vote April 22 on union representation. Voting will take place at five separate locations at the Boeing campus. There are about 3,000 workers at Boeing's 787 complex in South Carolina. Earlier an Airbus official said he fully expects unions to target the Airbus plant being built in Mobile, Ala.(Post)


Growth
New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show two metro areas in the Gulf Coast I-10 aerospace region were among the 20 fastest growing in the nation from 2013 to 2014. Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Ala., with a growth of 2.4 percent, was 14th fastest growing, while Panama City, Fla., with a growth of 2.2 percent, was 19th.

Other metro areas in the region also grew: Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla., ranked 37, had a growth rate of 1.9 percent; Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Fla., ranked 87, had a rate of 1.2 percent; Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Miss., ranked 124, had a growth rate of 1 percent; New Orleans, ranked 142, had a growth rate of .8 percent; and Mobile, Ala., ranked 267, had a rate of .1 percent. (Post)


F-35
Australia's first F-35A pilot, Squadron Leader Andrew Jackson, took his first flight in an F-35A aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., on March 17. He flew a U.S. Air Force F-35A because Australian F-35A aircraft are currently located at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in anticipation of the opening of a pilot training center there in mid-2015. (Post)


Airport
A spike in military aviation operations kept activity at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport from taking a dip in February. Airport Executive Director Parker McClellan said there were 3,665 aircraft operations in February 2015 compared to 3,703 in 2014. Airline operations were down 2.86 percent, general aviation operations dropped 18.63 percent and military operations increased 58.75 percent. (Post)


Space
United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy vehicle was chosen by NASA last week to launch the Solar Probe Plus mission to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The mission is scheduled to launch in July 2018 from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Delta IV Heavy vehicle features a center common booster core along with two strap-on common booster cores, each powered by the RS-68 engine. The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68 engines are assembled and tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)

-- NASA selected IT Federal Sales of Windham, N.H., to provide SAP software and maintenance support services to all NASA centers and associated facilities with a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) estimated at $23.1 million. The BPA is available for use by all NASA centers and associated facilities through March 31, 2018. The SAP agreement is administered by the NASA Shared Services Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


Contracts
Kaman Precision Products Inc., Orlando, Fla., was awarded a $58 million modification to a previously awarded contract for Lot 12 production of Joint Programmable Fuze systems. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $528.8 million contract modification to exercise the option on a previously awarded contract for Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile Lot 29 production and other AMRAAM system items. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Sierra Nevada Corp., Sparks, Nev., was awarded a $15.1 million modification to exercise and option to a previously awarded contract to provide for contractor logistics services in support of the AC-130W and AC-130J precision strike package. Work will be performed at Hurlburt Field, Fla., Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., and various deployment locations. ... Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Ind., was awarded a $93.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option to provide intermediate, depot level maintenance and related logistics support for about 223 in-service T-45 F405-RR-401 Adour engines and MKII gas turbine starters. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss., NAS Kingsville, Texas, NAS Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Patuxent River, Md. … Boeing of St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $28.5 million modification to exercise the option on the purchase of QF-16 Full-Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) Lot 3. This option is for the purchase of 25 QF-16 FSATs and 25 four-year warranties of the QF-16 drone-peculiar equipment. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (3/15 to 3/21)

There was a story this week about the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election for 2,400 production workers at the Boeing plant in North Charleston, S.C.

The plant opened in late 2011 and is one of two final assembly and delivery points for the 787. Boeing last month opened a new propulsion plant in North Charleston and now employs about 7,500 people in South Carolina. (Post)

You just know that Airbus is keeping an eye on what's going on in South Carolina. Airbus, which will open an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., this year, has developed a strategy to counter an expected move by unions to organize the Alabama plant. That's the word from Alan McArtor, chairman and chief executive of the Airbus Group.

He said the Airbus business case for the Mobile plant doesn’t rely on whether workers decide to organize, but the company will seek to avoid a union presence by ensuring a rapport and fair treatment of its workers. (Post)

So how are unions doing? According to statistics released earlier this year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide there were 14.6 million wage and salary workers who were members of unions in 2014, 11.1 percent of workers. That's down 0.2 percent from 2013.

While that's not much of a drop, the numbers are down considerably from 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available. In 1983 there were 17.7 million union workers, a membership rate of 20.1 percent.

In the four states that are part of the I-10 aerospace corridor, Mississippi had a union membership rate in 2014 of 3.7 percent and Louisiana had a rate of 5.2 percent. Florida's union membership rate in 2014 was 5.7 percent and Alabama's was 10.8 percent.


Unmanned
A Fire Scout and a Littoral Combat Ship both are making a showing for the first time in an annual war game in South Korea. The exercises began March 2 and will continue through April 24 and involve thousands of U.S. troops and their South Korean counterparts.

This year the USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) is participating. It's one of two LCS designs intended to fight in areas closer to shore than larger ships can enter and to counter attacks by swarms of smaller vessels. Also participating is the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.; Austal USA builds the second LCS variant in Mobile, Ala. (Post)

-- In another first involving an unmanned systems, an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft fired a Hellfire missile at a sea-going target for the first time in a maritime test at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The test was during Eglin's Weapons Systems Evaluation Program over the Gulf of Mexico on March 16. The missile hit a boat that was being towed by another remotely-controlled vessel. (Post)

-- The first of 13 production QF-16 drones was delivered to the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., on March 11. The QF-16s will eventually replace the QF-4 as the next generation representative aerial target at Tyndall and Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. The 82nd ATRS is a geographically separated unit of the 53rd Wing, headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The first QF-16 for developmental testing arrived at Tyndall in November 2012. (Post)


In memory
Hundreds gathered Friday night on Navarre Beach in a final show of respect for 11 servicemen who died March 10 when a UH-60 helicopter crashed in Santa Rosa Sound during a training mission. Donated Army and Marine flags have been flying on the Navarre Beach Pier since the crash. In a ceremony Friday night those flags were retired. (Story)

Meanwhile, Eglin Air Force Base concluded active recovery efforts Saturday. The Safety Investigation Board from the Army Combat Readiness Center, Fort Rucker, Ala., has convened and Eglin has transferred responsibility of the accident site to the investigation board. All recovered human remains have been transferred to Dover Air Force Base, Del. (Post)

The Louisiana Army National Guard during the week released the names of the four guardsmen, all part of the Guard's 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Hammond. The seven Marines from Camp Lejeune were identified earlier. (Post)


Bases
Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., will host the Gulf Coast Salute 2015 air show and open house April 11-12. The show will feature the Air Force Thunderbirds flying demonstration team, the Army Golden Knights parachute team and the F-22 Raptor aerial demonstration team. Admission and parking for the show is free. Shuttle bus transportation is to be provided from the parking area to the flight line. (Post)


Contracts
A2R of Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $23.6 million, five-year laboratory services contract from NASA. A2R will be responsible for providing technical services for laboratory operations at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. … Raytheon Co., Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $91.6 million modification to exercise the option on previously awarded contract for Lot 8 of the Miniature Air Launched Decoy Jammer missile. Contractor will provide 250 MALD-J missiles. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be complete by June 30, 2017. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (3/8 to 3/14)

The crash of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a training mission in Northwest Florida on Tuesday took the lives of 11 servicemen, and reminds us again of how risky the military life can be, even without being in a combat zone.

The helicopter from the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Hammond, La., was with another UH-60 on the training mission at Eglin Range A-17 when thick fog enveloped the area. One helicopter returned to base, but the other went down hard in Santa Rosa Sound, separating the mainland from the nearby barrier island. The UH-60 crashed into 25 feet of water around 8:30 p.m.

Seven Marines and four Army helicopter crew members died. (Post) The Marines were all from the 2nd Special Operations Battalion of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The names of the four Louisiana National Guard soldiers who also died in the crash have not yet been released. (Post)

We're a military-friendly region, in part because of all our bases, in part because of all our veterans, in part because of our patriotism. So a tragedy like the UH-60 crash grabs our attention and we mourn along with their friends and families.


Bases
The 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron will conduct flight and boat operations in the Gulf of Mexico eight to 20 miles south of Destin and in Choctawhatchee Bay March 16-19. The operations are part of the 53rd Wing's weapon system evaluation program. Fighter aircraft will release munitions in the morning between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. about eight to 20 nautical miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. Then around 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the bay, about 30 boats will be used as visual targets by fighter aircraft and helicopters flying mid to low level. Eglin held a similar exercise in early February. (Post)


F-35
The first F-35 assembled outside the United States rolled off an assembly line in Italy on Thursday. The F-35A designated AL-1 is being assembled at the final assembly and check out (FACO) facility at Cameri Air Base in northern Italy. The FACO will assemble F-35s for Italy and the Netherlands.

Owned by the Italian Ministry of Defense, Cameri also builds wing sets for the F-35 that will be shipped to Lockheed’s Fort Worth, Texas, assembly line. The plant, operated by Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi and Lockheed Martin, has 750 staff now at the 101-acre facility. Last December, it was chosen by the DoD as Europe's F-35 airframe maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade center.

Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home to the F-35 integrated training center. (Post)

-- Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $33.9 million modification to a previously awarded contract. The modification provides for retrofit modifications to the production thrust recovery, lift systems, and controller systems for low rate initial production VII F135/600 and F135/100 propulsion systems.

Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is expected to be completed in December 2016. The contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps (89.22 percent); the U.S. Air Force (24 percent); and the international partners (10.54 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)


Propulsion
Speaking of engines, Turkish Airlines selected Rolls-Royce to supply Trent 700 engines and long-term service support, worth $300 million, to power four Airbus A330 freighter aircraft. The airline already operates 11 A330ceo passenger and five A330 freighter aircraft powered by the Trent 700.

In the A330 freighter market, the Trent 700 now accounts for 90 per cent of aircraft in service and on order. More than 1,500 Trent 700s are now in service or on firm order. Rolls-Royce tests the Trent engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


Airbus
Airbus could commit to a new hike in production of its A320 family of jetliners before the end of the year. A final decision depends in large part on the health of the supply chain. Sales chief John Leahy made the prediction days after the plane maker announced plans to raise production from 42 planes a month now to 50 a month in 2017, almost matching a monthly rate of 52 targeted by Boeing for the following year. Airbus this year will open an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala. (Post)


Unmanned
The U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system has seen a significant
decrease in cost per flight hour coupled with a sharp increase in flight hours, officials said. Global Hawk variants have flown more than 140,000 flight hours in support of diverse surveillance missions.

Meanwhile, an RQ-4B Global Hawk, A2019, embarked on a mission March 7 that sent the aircraft past the 10,000 flying-hour milestone at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The aircraft has been providing support to warfighters by relaying communications between people and aircraft as well as enabling airstrikes on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Fuselage work for all Global Hawk variants is done in Moss Point, Miss. (Post)


F-16
The Air Force's F-16s used for homeland protection need radar upgrades urgently, according to the commander of the First Air Force at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. These are upgrades the service put off due to funding restrictions.

The First Air Force, the numbered Air Force with sole responsibility of ensuring air superiority and air sovereignty of the U.S., recently filed the urgent operational need request with the Air Force Requirements Council for fiscal 2015 funding for its Aerospace Control Alert mission.

The request now being considered, specifically for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Block 30 F-16s, seeks the installation of the Northrop Grumman APG-83 SABR active electronically scanned array radar. The radar was part of the combat avionics program extension suite that the Air Force dropped from its fiscal 2015 and 2016 budget requests because of budget shortfalls. (Post)


Contracts
Airbus Defense and Space Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $24 million contract modification to exercise an option to procure Program Year 10 contractor logistics support for UH-72A Lakota Helicopters. Work will be performed at in Columbus, Miss. … Atlas North America LLC, Virginia Beach, Va., was awarded a $14 million contract for depot level repair, maintenance, modifications, engineering services and spare parts for the AN/SLQ-60 Surface Mine Neutralization System. Sixty percent of the work will be done in Panama City Beach, Fla. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, is the contracting activity.

Week in review (2/29 to 3/7)

With both Airbus and Boeing gearing up for increasing production of A320 and 737 jetliners, at least one research firm is warning that there may end up being more planes than the airline market can absorb.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts warn that the two giants may be on a path to produce more jetliners than the airline market can absorb. Airbus and Boeing are planning to hike production of the two families of jets by 20 percent between 2014 and 2018. That’s on top of a previous increase from 2010 to 2014.

But a big drop in aircraft retirements, lower oil prices and the possibility of higher interest rates in the U.S. could combine to weaken demand and lead to a glut of jets, according to the Merrill Lynch analysts.

Of course we’ll have to see how all this pans out over time, but anything about A320 production is of high interest to our region. Airbus is building an assembly line for A320 jets in Mobile, Ala., that will open this year. In fact, the first shipment of large sections from Europe will arrive in Mobile in June.

The first plane, an A321 for JetBlue, will be delivered in 2016, and when in full swing the plant will produce four or five jetliners a month. The company is continuing to hire to fill what will eventually be about 1,000 jobs.

Airbus planes aside, this whole region is gearing up for a larger aerospace footprint. The Alabama Aviation Center is holding an Aviation Career Fair and Open House March 13. It's the second such fair for the Aviation Center in five months.

Ten employers and recruiters from the Air National Guard and Air Force will be on hand. The career fair is coordinated by the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council and the aviation center of Enterprise State Community College. The Alabama Aviation Center is at the Mobile Aeroplex. (Post)

Meanwhile, across from Mobile in Pensacola, Fla., Aero Sekur, specialist in helicopter lift-raft and flotation systems, is relocating its U.S. subsidiary from Parsippany, N.J., to a Pensacola site that's three times larger. The move provides the company with an 8,000 square-foot facility for its administrative offices, maintenance repair and overhaul operations and spare parts buildings.

The site is west of Interstate 110 and north of Town and Country Plaza. Aero Sekur, headquartered in Italy, specializes in safety systems and advanced flexible structures for the global aerospace and defense markets. (Post)

There won’t be a lot of jobs associated with the office, seven initially and perhaps twice that as it gears up. But since this region is making a push for more aerospace, any new operation is important and sends a message.


Airports
Three airports in Northwest Florida had increases in their passenger counts in January 2015 compared to January 2014. The newly renamed Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport at Eglin Air Force Base had an 8.56 percent increase. Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport near Panama City had a 5.83 percent increase and Pensacola International Airport had an increase of 4.5 percent. (Post)

Meanwhile, agreements were finalized for United Airlines and Silver Airways to begin service at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. United Express started daily service to Houston. Silver Airways is set to kick off service to Orlando and Tampa March 19. (Post)


F-35
The F-35 Joint Program Office has asked Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) to start an initial low-rate production of a new Hand-held Imaging Tool (HIT) that will be able to check the surface of a plane to check its health.

The Air Force currently uses a 1,200-pound piece of equipment and needs two operators and three hours. But AFRL through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) developed HIT. It's a portable, non-destructive method to inspect an aircraft. It consists of a handheld unit weighing less than seven pounds and an 11-pound backpack that can image 100 percent of an aircraft's surface in 15 minutes.

The test and demonstration was done at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in late 2014 and led to the culmination of a five-year research effort. So expect to see that device there, since it's home of the F-35 Integrated Training Center. (Post)

-- Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded an $8.2 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the procurement and delivery of electronic components to support low-rate initial production Lot VII F-35 aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and international partners. Work will be performed in Fort Worth and is expected to be completed in March 2016.

This contract combines purchases for the Air Force (59.4 percent), Navy (18.7 percent), Marine Corps (12.5 percent), and international partners (9.4 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)

-- Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $7 million modification to a previously awarded contract for retrofit modifications to the F-135 propulsion system, including production thrust recovery and integrated power package manifold. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is expected to be completed in December 2016.

This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force (50 percent); the U.S. Navy (49 percent); and the international partners (1 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. The F135 is used in the F-35. (Post)


Contracts
Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Hurst, Texas, was awarded an $8.4 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for delivery of one Bell 407 Analog Helicopter, and preservation and storage of seven aircraft in support of the endurance upgrade of the MQ-8C Fire Scout. Work will be performed in Ozark, Ala., and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Final assembly of Fire Scouts is done at Moss Point, Miss. … L-3 Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded an $8.8 million modification for F-16 aircraft maintenance for Taiwan. Work will be performed at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., and is expected to be complete by Feb. 29, 2016.

Week in review (2/22 to 2/28)

If you're interested in where future technologies are heading, you'll be interested to know researchers in Australia said they created two jet engines using 3D printing, a world first in one of the most intriguing technologies that promises to change manufacturing.

The researchers from Melborne's Monash University used the template of a gas turbine engine from France's Safran to make the metal engines using 3D printing, invented in the 1980s. A 3D printer uses lasers to "print" objects from metals or plastics according to a digital design.

Wu Xinhua, from Monash University, said her team created the machines by pulling apart the old engine and scanning its components. The project took a year to complete. One of the engines is on display at the Australian International Airshow in Melbourne with the second in Toulouse at the French aerospace company Microturbo.

Forecasts show worldwide spending on 3D printing will rise from $1.6 billion in 2015 to around $13.4 billion in 2018. You can read a story by AFP in SpaceDaily or one by ComputerWorld.

OK, that's pretty impressive, but when you consider another first that was announced during the week, you start realizing all the rules are changing.

Researchers unveiled a software system during the week that taught itself to play 49 different video games and went on to beat humans game-players on multiple occasions. That's interesting, but here's the really fascinating thing: The program discovered tricks its own programmers didn't know existed.

That's according to a team from Google-owned research company DeepMind, as reported in the scientific journal Nature. Learning directly from experience to master a wide range of tasks is the essence of artificial intelligence.

It brings us closer to a future where smart, general purpose robots can teach themselves to perform tasks, store a memory of trial and error and adapt their actions for a better outcome. I know an awful lot of flesh and blood types that can't do that very successfully. You can read the story by AFP in SpaceDaily.

Now for your week in review:

Airbus
Airbus is talking to suppliers about raising production of the A320 family of aircraft to 50 a month as early as 2017. Airbus has asked suppliers to be ready to adjust to production of 48 aircraft a month during 2016, rising to 50 a month in 2017. The increase would stretch an existing target that calls for 46 of the single-aisle jets a month by the second quarter of 2016, up from a current rate of 42. (Post)

Airbus on Friday confirmed it will ramp up production of the A320 series to 50 a month in 2017 from a planned 46 a month in 2016. At the same time it will cut production of the wide-body A330 series to six a month early next year from the current rate of 10 a month. Airbus also said its net profit soared 59 percent last year.

The Airbus A320 final assembly line in Mobile is scheduled to open this year. The first major shipment of sections from Europe will arrive in June.


F-35
Israel signed a contract to buy 14 additional F-35 fighter jets for about $3 billion. The deal follows Israel's purchase in 2010 of 19 of the Lockheed Martin-built fighters. The ministry said an agreement to buy the 14 additional aircraft includes an option for another 17 of the planes. Israel's first two F-35s will arrive by the end of 2016. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. (Post)

Meanwhile, the F-35 continues to mark more firsts. Scheduled "ski-jump testing" in Maryland is designed to test the plane's ability to take off from upward-sloping ski-jump ramps used on aircraft carriers like those operated by Britain and Italy. Another F-35 also is wrapping up extreme weather testing at McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The F-35 climate testing has been closely watched by the U.S. military and nine other countries that have placed orders: Britain, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Norway, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands and Israel. (Post)


Economic development
In Florida, the Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners during the week hosted a legislative delegation tour of Whiting Aviation Park as part of a funding request. The commission is requesting some $4.9 million for two years in special legislative appropriations for phase one and partial phase two construction of the 269-acre park. Whiting Aviation Park would offer access to 6,000 feet of Naval Air Station Whiting Field’s runway through an agreement between the Navy and the county. (Post)

-- The Okaloosa County Economic Development Council has been awarded a state grant that will partially be used to fund further study of the proposed unmanned vehicle test center outside Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The EDC has partnered with the University of Florida for the past five years to develop the Autonomous Vehicle Center test facility south of the college’s Research and Engineering Education Facility. The EDC was recently awarded a $285,000 Florida Defense Support Taskforce grant, which will used to help fund three major initiatives the EDC is undertaking, including the Advanced Energy Technology Center. (Post)


Airports/bases
More than 1,600 people turned out to show an Army team their support for the aviation base in light of planned reorganizations. Before it makes a decision on how to implement cuts, the Army is sending teams to 30 installations. In a worse-case scenario, Fort Rucker could lose nearly 2,500 military and civilian personnel and take $600 million in budget reductions that may reduce from 900 to 600 the number of aviators trained at Rucker. The Army expects to have its final recommendation completed by summer. (Post)

-- After extensive renovations, the main post-security food and beverage concessions area at Florida’s Pensacola International Airport reopened. Einstein Bros. Bagels, Freshens, and the Pensacola Beach House bar and restaurant began serving customers during the week. The city’s contract with OHM Concessions Group is expected to generate more than $1 million in additional revenue for Pensacola International Airport. (Post)


Space
Orbital Sciences doesn't plan to do acceptance tests of the RD-181 engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss. That's according to a story in Aviation Week about the engines Orbital Sciences chose to replace the Russian-built NK-33 engines. Those engines, modified by Aerojet as the AJ-26, had been tested at SSC before being used to power Orbital's Antares rocket on resupply missions to the International Space Station. The switch to Russian-built RD-181s followed the October 2014 failure of an Antares launch vehicle seconds after lifting off from Wallops Island, Va. The first shipment of the engines to Orbital ATK will be this summer. (Post)


Helicopters
The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X's second flight test vehicle successfully achieved its first flight. The Bell 505’s flight test vehicle one completed its first flight in November of last year. Bell Helicopter, a Textron company, broke ground in August 2014 on an 82,300 square-foot helicopter assembly plant in Lafayette, La., about 135 miles west of New Orleans, that will assemble Bell 505 Short Light Single helicopters. (Post)


Changes
Marion Blakey is leaving the Aerospace Industries Association to become the CEO and
president of Rolls-Royce North America. She's replacing James Guyette, who retires from Rolls-Royce May 31. Blakey, an Alabama native, has been with AIA, an industry organization, for eight years. Rolls-Royce has its outdoor engine testing facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


Contracts
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $63.7 million advance acquisition contract for the procurement of long-lead components, material, parts
and associated efforts required to maintain the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System
planned production schedule. Fuselage work on the Triton is done in Moss Point, Miss. … PRIDE Industries, Roseville, Calif., was awarded a $14 million contract modification for Department of Public Works-Base Operations at Ft. Rucker, Ala. Army Contracting Command at Ft. Rucker is the contracting activity. … Eight companies, including CB&I Federal Services, Baton Rouge, La., each have been awarded petroleum, oil and lubricant contracts to provide sustainment, restoration and modernization and clean, inspect and repair for petroleum, oil and lubricant systems at various locations worldwide. The maximum dollar value including the base period and four option years for all eight contracts combined is $800,000,000. AMEC Environmental & Infrastructure Inc. of Blue Bell, Pa., was awarded task order 0001 at $3.1 million for the cleaning, inspecting and repair of POL facilities at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. … Airbus Defense and Space Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $28.3 million contract modification for contractor logistic support for 2015, which entails flying hours for various contract line item numbers within and outside of the continental United States, mission equipment packages and direct labor support. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss. … South Alabama Regional Airport Authority, Andalusia, Ala., was awarded a maximum $13.4 million contract for jet fuel. Location of performance is Alabama, with a March 31, 2019 performance completion date.

Week in review (2/15 to 2/21)

The USS Independence, a littoral combat ship built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., arrived at Florida's Naval Air Station Pensacola's Allegheny Pier late in the week. It's in this area temporarily to test mine warfare capabilities in the Gulf of Mexico, and will dock at NAS Pensacola between sorties.

LCS 2 is an aluminum hull ship designed to operate in shallow, littoral regions. It has a flight deck designed for helicopters, including the unmanned Fire Scout helicopters built in part in Moss Point, Miss. To the east of Pensacola in Panama City, mine warfare is one area of expertise of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

The ship's home port is in San Diego.


F-35
Lockheed Martin may need to update its F-35 software after issues arose during testing, but it should not delay Marines Corps plans to declare its variant ready for combat use in July. That's according to Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president of Lockheed-Aeronautics. He said some issues came up during radar tracking tests in the jet's mission systems software, but that they are manageable. The F-35 has had some software issues, but most of the problems have been worked out. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center and the U.S. Reprogramming Laboratory. (Post)

Bases

Boeing was awarded a $29.5 million contract to design and develop a beam control system for laser weapons on U.S. Navy ships. Boeing will begin to design a prototype High Power Beam Control Subsystem. The resulting beam control system will focus and hold a laser on a moving aim point long enough to disable the target. The Boeing beam control system capitalizes on the company’s work with the U.S. Army's High Energy Laser Mobile, which was tested at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., last year. The system was able to acquire, track and destroy targets in windy and foggy conditions. (Post)

-- In another item of interest to Eglin during the week, the Pentagon announced that Lt. Gen. Ellen M. Pawlikowsi was nominated to the rank of general with assignment as the commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Officials also announced the retirement of current AFMC Commander, Gen. Janet C. Wolfenbarger. No date was announced for the retirement and change of command. Eglin is an AFMC base. (Post)

-- Army Aviation leaders gathered at Fort Rucker, Ala., earlier this month for the annual Aviation Senior Leaders Forum. About 150 senior leaders attended. Key aviation topics included manned-unmanned teaming, modernization strategy, training and leader development, lessons learned from recently deployed combat aviation brigades, combined arms air-ground maneuver and enlisted training. Fort Rucker is
the home to Army Aviation training. (Post)

Airports

In Florida, the Okaloosa County Commission voted earlier this week to change the name of Northwest Florida Regional Airport to Destin-Ft. Walton Beach Airport, to take advantage of the two best-known names in that area of Northwest Florida. There was also some talk about using “international” and keeping “regional” in the name. But in the end, neither became part of the new name. The airport is at Eglin Air Force Base. (Post)

Meanwhile, further to the east, Marianna Airport Commerce Park during the week became the first certified site in Jackson County through Gulf Power’s Florida First Sites program. Florida First Sites program was created in 2013 to help communities prepare locations to attract new industries and new jobs to the region. Fourteen sites were initially submitted from public and private landowners. Of those 14 sites, five have been certified and five are still working toward their certification. The 237-acre Jackson County industrial site is owned by the City of Marianna and adjacent to the Marianna Municipal Airport. The airport has two 5,000-foot runways and features 214 contiguous acres that can be developed. (Post)

Week in review (2/8 to 2/14)

One of the most unique military aircraft based in the Gulf Coast region is the AC-130 gunship of the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach, Fla. The gunship is held in high-esteem by ground troops for its ability to provide a heavy-fisted pounding to ground targets as it circles in the air. The largest gun in its arsenal is 105mm cannon. It's like a flying tank.

But that classic configuration was altered in later models, and now the head of the command, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, has decided the new model of the gunship, the AC-130J, should have the 105mm instead of relying on missiles for precision weaponry. He also wants to slow the rate of retirement of older AC-130s.

He says he won’t be able to maintain 37 AC-130s in service, but he wants to freeze the number at 26, which would include 14 AC-130Us and 12 AC-130Ws. The remaining Vietnam-era AC-130H Spectres will go away.

The U model, or Spooky, is the version that includes the 105mm. The W model, or Stinger II, is a new type gunship with smart missiles and small diameter bombs, but no gun heavier than 30mm. The J model, Ghostrider, was originally supposed to enter service looking a lot like the Stinger, but with room and enough power to mount the 105mm at some later point. Heithold wants to make that later point now.

Heithold says the 105mm is more accurate and cheaper than firing small diameter bombs. In addition, Heithold thinks the technology is mature enough that laser or directed energy weapons should be considered for gunships. For two good reads on the gunship and the issue of its firepower, take a look at last month's Breaking Defense or DefenseTech.

Now here's your week in review:


F-35
Three contracts were awarded to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, during the week related to the F-35. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity for all three awards.

In one, the company was awarded a $39.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract for procurement of electronic components in support of F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, international partners and the governments of Israel and Japan. These components are in support of production, sustainment and operations and maintenance requirements resulting from diminishing manufacturing sources. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in September 2015. (Post)

In another contract, Lockheed was awarded a $16.5 million delivery order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement for the procurement and installation of vehicle management computer retrofit modification kits into designated aircraft that are critical to meeting F-35 requirements. Five percent of the work will be done at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Other work sites are in Texas, Utah, North Carolina, Arizona and California and is expected to be completed in August 2016. (Post)

In the third contract, the company was awarded a $14.5 million modification to a previously awarded contract to incorporate Block 3i requirements into the F-35 United States Reprogramming Laboratory, including software upgrade, hardware refresh, end-to-end demonstration and certification and accreditation. Work will be done in Fort Worth, Texas, and Orlando, Fla., and is expected to be completed in June 2016. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center and the F-35 U.S. Reprogramming Laboratory. (Post)

In addition, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $9.4 million modification to the previously awarded contract is for common recurring sustainment and annualized and non-annualized common depot activation services in support of Low Rate Initial Production Lot VIII F135 propulsion systems. Work will be performed in Hartford and is expected to be completed in April 2017. The contract combines purchase for the Air Force, Navy/Marine Corps and the international partners. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)


Space
The Pentagon's research agency plans its first in-air test to launch satellites from the underside of an F-15 fighter jet from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., later this year. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to begin the initial flight-test phase of its Airborne Launch Assist Space Access program (ALASA) in a series of 12 orbital flights that would start in early 2016.

The first three orbital launches are engineering checkout payloads. Under the ALASA military space project, once the F-15 gets to a designated altitude, the rocket releases over the Atlantic Ocean and ignites, carrying its payload into orbit. ALASA’s goal is to make launching small payloads less expensive and more efficient. (Post)

-- Conrad Industries Inc. in Morgan City, La., received the NASA Space Flight Awareness Supplier Award for its work converting NASA’s Pegasus barge. Awardees are chosen based on their production of high-quality products, excellent technical and cost performance, and adherence to schedules. The barge, long used to transport shuttle external tanks for the Space Shuttle program, was lengthened from 260 to 310 feet to accommodate components for the Space Launch System program. The upgraded Pegasus is set to transport the first major SLS hardware from New Orleans to NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., for testing as early as next year. (Post)


Bases
The Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., released a solicitation for the Miniature Self Defense Munition Seeker Conceptual Design project. The initiative seeks to develop a conceptual design for the optics and algorithms of an affordable seeker front end for a defensive air-to-air weapon. Researchers tentatively plan to award two separate six-month contracts in April. (Post)

-- A Training Air Wing 5 helicopter from Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., made a hard landing during the week at Spencer Navy Outlying Landing Field in Pace. The helicopter rolled onto its right side while landing. The two pilots exited the helicopter on their own. (Post)

-- The 5th Special Operations Squadron at Duke Field, Fla., has added a new airframe to its list of Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft to train aircrews. The reserve squadron began C-146A Wolfhound formal training unit flights in December at Cannon AFB, N.M. The 49th SOS, a reserve operational squadron that will use the C146A, is scheduled to stand up at Duke Field in the fall. (Post)


Economic development
This year for the first time, a northwest Florida economic development group was the primary sponsor of the annual Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance conference in Seattle. Jennifer Conoley, economic development representative for Gulf Power, said the $15,000 sponsorship by Florida’s Great Northwest economic development group was a great way to get in front of the audience. (Post)


Airbus
South Korea's Asiana Airlines signed a Letter of Intent with Airbus for the purchase of 25 A321neo single aisle aircraft as part of its ongoing fleet modernization program. Asiana will make a decision on its engine of choice for the aircraft at a later date. The A320 assembly line in Mobile, Ala., will open this year. Its first aircraft to be delivered in 2016 will be an A321ceo. (Post)

-- Airbus Defense and Space Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $220.6 million modification to a contract to procure 41 72A Lakota Helicopters to include forty-one Airborne Radio Communications 231 Radios. Work will be performed Columbus, Miss. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. is the contracting activity. (Post)


Contracts
OASIS System LLC, Lexington, Mass., and COLSA Corp., of Huntsville, Ala., each was awarded $23.7 million modifications to previous contracts to provide additional diverse non-engineering, technical and acquisition management support services already being provided under the basic contract. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2015. Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity for both contracts.

Week in review (2/1 to 2/7)

The next edition of the Gulf Coast Reporters’ League bimonthly newsletter will be available Tuesday. It's an eight-page PDF with stories about aerospace activities in the I-10 region between New Orleans and Northwest Florida.

In the Feb. 10 issue, writer Kaija Wilkinson has a cover story about the Airbus A320 assembly line in Mobile, and the shipment that will bring in the aircraft sections from Europe. They'll become the first American-made Airbus jetliner, a JetBlue A321.

There's also a story by yours truly about Avalex Technologies, the Gulf Breeze company doing innovative work in the growing field of surveillance. Foreign sales are taking off, and Avalex has enough land and space that it could become the core of a high-tech park.

Writer Tom McLaughlin will tell you about DRS Training & Control Systems of Fort Walton Beach. It's an old dog, so to speak, of this region's defense contractors, but it's playing a key role improving training capabilities of the world's most advanced fighter, the F-35.

Last but not least, writer Connie Baggett will fill you in on the aviation activities in rural counties of South Alabama. You may be surprised just how much is going on in the area north of the more metropolitan coastal region.

You can find the newsletter Tuesday at the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor website. The download is free thanks to underwriters Gulf Power, Santa Rosa Economic Development and Mobile Airport Authority. If you prefer, you can subscribe to have the newsletter PDF delivered directly to your inbox. There’s no charge, and the list will never be used for anything else. Just drop me an email with subscribe on the subject line.

Now for your week in review:


Airbus
Airbus' list of companies interested in buying A320 jetliners continues to grow. Avianca Holdings S.A. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for 100 A320neo family aircraft, according to a press release from Airbus.

Avianca, of Bogota, Colombia, will base its fleet renewal strategy on the A320neo family, Airbus said. To date, the A320neo program has 245 firm orders from seven customers in Latin America: Avianca, Azul, Interjet, LAN, TAM, VivaAerobus and Volaris.

Airbus will open its A320 assembly line in Mobile, Ala., later this year. Other A320 assembly lines are in Germany, France and China. (Post)


Unmanned
Here's some good news for Moss Point, Miss., home of the Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center that's involved in building portions of two robotic aircraft.

Northrop Grumman will begin production of four RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft systems for the Republic of Korea's air force. Those systems will provide wide-area intelligence gathering capabilities to military commanders in the allied nation.

Under a contract awarded Dec. 16, the company will work with the U.S. Air Force to deliver the systems starting in 2018. The contract is for four aircraft, two ground stations and supporting equipment.

It's the first time Global Hawk has been sold to an allied nation in the Asia-Pacific region under the Foreign Military Sales process. Moss Point will be handling the central fuselage work for those Global Hawks. (Post)


Space
The Pegasus barge that was designed to transport Space Shuttle external tanks from New Orleans to Florida is well on its way to being supersized. Its new role will be to transport the huge Space Launch System stages being built at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The larger Pegasus is set to transport the first major SLS hardware from New Orleans to NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., for testing as early as next year.

The barge's final role in shuttle program was when it shipped Space Shuttle Main Engine ground support equipment to Stennis from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The barge was mothballed at Stennis in 2011, and is now being modified by Conrad Shipyard LLC in Amelia, La. (Post)

-- Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., was awarded a $36.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract for Space Based Infra-Red Systems (SBIRS) follow-on production. The contract is being modified to change the initial launch capability dates for SBIRS Geosynchronous Earth Orbit 3-4 space vehicles in order to support new launch manifest dates and procure storage for the GEO-3 space vehicle. Work will be done in Sunnyvale and will be completed by June 30, 2018.

Space and Missile System Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. But there's also a Gulf Coast connection. The SBIRS is an A2100 satellite-based spacecraft. Work on the A2100 core's propulsion system, which positions the spacecraft in orbit, is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


F-35
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., of Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $35.6 million delivery order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement to complete a Joint Strike Missile (JSM) risk reduction and integration study of the F-35 Air System for the government of Norway.

The objectives of the study are to further mature JSM weapon design and to ensure compatibility of the weapon with the F-35. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and Kongsberg, Norway, and is expected to be completed in March 2018.

The Naval Air Systems Command of Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. (Post)


Airport/bases
The city of Pensacola is looking at beefing up security at Pensacola International Airport with a high-tech electronic system that will cost $533,000 to install. That system will use cameras and motion detection software to stop people from entering the concourse area through the exit lane, which could allow passengers to bypass security. A visible or audible warning will alert airport personnel and automatically close doors to prevent access to the concourse area if someone enters the area through the exit lane. (Post)

-- The 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron will conduct flight and boat operations Monday through Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico some eight to 20 miles south of Destin and in Choctawhatchee Bay. Fighter aircraft will release munitions in the morning between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Gulf of Mexico within a cordoned, cleared surface range safety corridor. In the afternoon, around 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., approximately 30 boats will be used as visual targets by fighter aircraft and helicopters flying mid to low level altitudes. No weapons or ammunition will be involved in the flights in the Choctawhatchee Bay. (Post)


Contract
Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md., was awarded a $16.6 million delivery order to a previously awarded contract for the procurement of field upgradeable kits and fleet support for conversion of the AN/AQS-24A mine detecting sensor systems to the AN/AQS-24B configuration. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (1/25 to 1/31)

For the Gulf Coast aerospace corridor, the week was dominated by news items concerning the F-35, including the start of training for the first pilot from the Royal Australian Air Force and extreme weather testing of an F-35B from Maryland. But Pensacola also got on the radar with something out of this world.

Here's your week in review:

F-35
At Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., an F-35B is continuing testing under extreme weather conditions at the base’s McKinley Climatic Laboratory. The F-35B is from the Patuxent River Integrated Test Force in Maryland, and the tests are being done by the 96th Test Wing.

The testing, which began four months ago and won’t end until March, is designed to validate the capability of the plane to operate in weather conditions anywhere in the world. The laboratory supports all-weather testing of weapon systems to ensure they function regardless of climatic conditions. (Post)

Meanwhile, the first Royal Australian Air Force pilot has begun training at Eglin to fly the F-35A. Eglin is home of the F-35 integrated training center, which trains all branches and all foreign partners in all three variants of the Lockheed Martin fifth generation fighter.

Squadron leader Andrew Jackson’s first flight will be months from now, and may not be in either of Australia’s two F-35A jets. Australia’s second F-35A pilot, David Bell, will start training in mid-2015. Australia plans to buy 72 of the planes, with the first arriving in Australia in late 2018. The first jet rolled off the production line in 2014. (Post)

Over in Fort Worth, Texas, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. was awarded a $10.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract in support of the F-35 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot VI for the government of Italy.

This modification provides for the F-35 Italian National Database, including a Database Generation System to support delivery of the first Italian full mission simulator. Work will be performed in Turin, Italy (80 percent) and Orlando, Fla. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2017. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)

In another contract, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics was awarded a $10 million ceiling priced modification to a previously awarded contract to redesign, test and certify the F-35 Ground Based Data Security Assembly Receptacle. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (51 percent) and Orlando, Fla. (49 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2016. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)


Bases/airports
Navy Outlying Field Choctaw in Navarre, Fla., hosted a short-notice Naval Special Warfare Group training exercise Jan. 23 when weather conditions left the East Coast SEAL team without a drop zone.

After coordination with the Naval Air Station Whiting Field Air Operations, NOLF Choctaw, used primarily for naval aviation training, was transformed for four multiple air drops from a Dobbins, Ga., Air Reserve Base C-130 that circled the field at about 10,000 feet. Whiting Field has 13 outlying fields used for training. (Post)

-- The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will perform at an air show at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., March 28-29. It will be Keesler’s first air show and open house in four years. This year's air show also features the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team and is expected to draw between 180,000 and 200,000 spectators. (Post)

-- Pensacola International Airport during the week unveiled a campaign designed to welcome sci-fi convention participants to town next month. The airport has put up signs that call the facility "Pensacola Intergalactic Airport" in advance of the Feb. 27 to March 1 Pensacon 2015.

The welcoming campaign, which will last until March 3, was done in partnership with Pensacon. The convention includes fans of multiple comic genres, including anime, sci-fi, fantasy and more. Last year’s convention drew 17,000 participants. (Post)

By the way, there are two airports in this country that actually use intergalactic in their names. According to a search of the internet, both are in Wyoming. One is Bunch Grass Intergalactic Airport in Powell, and the other is Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport in Green River.

If anyone had asked me, I would have suggested "The Upside of Florida Interstellar Airport/Spaceport." Has a nice ring, don't you think?


Space
While I'm on the subject of space, Orbital Sciences Corp. stockholders during the week approved the proposed merger with the Aerospace and Defense Groups of Alliant Techsystems Inc. About 99 percent of the votes cast at a special meeting voted in favor, representing some 85 percent of the total of outstanding shares of Orbital common stock. The merger is expected to close Feb. 9. ATK will be renamed Orbital ATK Inc. Orbital Sciences tests rocket engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


Contracts
Xator Corp. of Destin, Fla., along with InDyne Inc. and L-3 National Security Solutions Inc., both of Reston, Va., Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., and Herndon, Va., have each been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for force protection site security systems. The total not-to-exceed combined amount for these multiple contracts is $486,000,000. … Crane Electronics Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a maximum $9.8 million contract for high voltage power supplies. The contract has a five-year base with no option periods. The location of performance is Florida, with a Jan. 28, 2020 performance completion date. … Airbus Defense and Space Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $25 million contract modification to procure program year 10 contractor logistic support for the UH-72A Lakota Helicopters. The work will be performed in Columbus, Miss. … PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $31 million modification to exercise the option to a previously awarded contract for base operations support services. Work will be performed at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2015. The 81st Contracting Squadron, Keesler Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. ... L-3 Communications Corp., Madison, Miss., was awarded a $52 million contract modification to acquire maintenance/modifications for the Army's fleet of C-12/RC-12/UC-35 fixed wing aircraft. The work will be performed in Madison.

Week in review (1/18 to 1/24)

Late in the week the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest figures on union membership in the country. What may be the most striking on the national level is the drop since 1983, the first year for which comparable figures are available.

At that time, the union membership rate among American workers was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union members. In the most recent figures, 11.1 percent were members of unions. That’s 14.6 million people.

In the four states that are part of the I-10 aerospace corridor, the rate went up slightly in three of the four and remained the same in the other. Mississippi had the lowest union membership of the four with a rate of 3.7 percent, same as in 2013. Louisiana had a union membership rate of 5.2 percent in 2014, up from 4.3 in 2013, and Florida had a union membership rate of 5.7 percent, up from 5.4 in 2013. Alabama's union membership rate was 10.8 percent in 2014, up from 10.7 in 2013. (Post)

The state with the lowest union membership was North Carolina at 1.9 percent, and the state with the highest was New York, with 24.6 percent. The state with the largest number of union members was California, with 2.5 million. Over half of the 14.6 million union members in the country live in seven states: California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio, though these states accounted for only about a third of wage and salary employment nationally.

In 2014, 16.2 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union. This group includes both union members and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union contract.

In Alabama, 12.1 percent of workers are represented by unions, and in Florida, 7 percent are represented by unions. In Louisiana, 6.4 percent are represented by unions and in Mississippi, 4.5 percent are represented by unions.


F-35
The first F-35C for the Marines arrived at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., earlier this month from the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth, Texas. It was delivered to Strike Fighter Squadron 101 by Lt. Col. J.T. "Tank" Ryan, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 501 detachment commander.

This plane is the first of five Marine Corps F-35Cs that will be delivered to VFA-101 at Eglin. Marine F-35 pilots primarily fly F-35Bs, the short take-off vertical landing variant, but the F-35C will be used for carrier operations.

The first operational Marine Corps F-35C fleet squadron, VMFA-115, is scheduled to stand up at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., in 2019. (Post)

Meanwhile, the Marine Corps is moving forward with plans to base its fleet of F-35B's in Japan and the United States. In 2017, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 will relocate from Yuma, Ariz., to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.

Marine F-35 squadrons will also routinely deploy to Japan on six month rotations as part of the service's unit deployment program. F-35Bs at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where pilots and maintainers are trained, will be included in the rotation. (Post)

Air Force F-35As are also going to be based overseas, but in Europe. The Air Force will base two squadrons at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, with the first aircraft slated to arrive in 2020.


Economic development
Aerosync Support, which specializes in helicopter repair, modifications and upgrades, will set up shop at the Santa Rosa Industrial Park in Milton, Fla. The company is making a capital investment in excess of $1.75 million.

Aerosync qualified for a performance-based incentive program aimed at increasing high-skilled, high-wage jobs in Florida. Aerosync provides support for Bell and Sikorsky helicopters for both the commercial and military markets.

Greg Bartlett, president of Aerosync, said the company decided on Santa Rosa County because of the large aerospace market in both commercial and military sectors, and the Santa Rosa Industrial Park offers the opportunity for expansion.

Aerosync, which also has operations in Wichita, Kan., and Bogata, Columbia, will create 25 jobs in Santa Rosa County. (Post)

-- Speaking of jobs, over in Mobile, Ala., aerospace giant Airbus posted notices for two positions that are open for the A320 final assembly line being built at the Mobile Aeroplex. One opening is for a deliver transactions manager, the other for sales contract manager. The assembly line, which will produce the most popular line of Airbus jetliners, will be opening in the fall of this year and produce its first jet in the spring of 2016. (Post)

-- The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is back on track with an expansion of its research facility following a nearly year-long delay caused by flooding in April 2014. Completion is scheduled for February 2016. The three-story, 30,000-square-foot building will consolidate work done at several buildings, increase IHMC’s footprint and allow for future growth.

IHMC is a research institute investigating a broad range of topics related to building technological systems aimed at amplifying and extending human cognitive, perceptual, and physical capacities. Some of its work is in aerospace. (Post)


Airports/bases
Gulf Power is partnering with the Air Force and Navy at three military bases in Northwest Florida to build large-scale solar energy farms. Tentative plans call for the farms to be located at Eglin Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach (30 megawatts), Holley Outlying Field in Navarre (40 megawatts) and Saufley Field in Pensacola (50 megawatts).

As an intermittent energy resource, the solar farms will not replace Gulf Power's generation plants, but will be able to provide energy that will diversify the power supply and provide a cost-effective alternative during peak energy usage. It still has to be approved by the Florida Public Service Commission.

HelioSage Energy of Virginia would begin construction in February 2016 and the solar farms could be in service by December 2016. According to Eglin officials, the base has entered into negotiations to lease 240 acres adjacent to Northwest Florida Regional Airport for the Gulf Power/HelioSage project. (Post)

-- Silver Airways said during the week that it will provide service from Pensacola International Airport to Jacksonville and from Panama City’s Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport to Orlando and Tampa, beginning March 19. Silver Airways uses 34-seat Saab 340B Plus turbo-prop aircraft for all its flights. (Post)

-- Okaloosa County commissioners during the week changed the name of Destin Airport to Destin Executive Airport. But they delayed changing the name of Northwest Florida Regional Airport to Destin-Ft. Walton Beach International Airport. Some commissioners wanted more time to study the matter. The airport, goes by VPS, is at Eglin Air Force Base. (Post)


Space
The third Navy Mobile User Objective System satellite launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station early in the week atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V. The MUOS satellite is designed to improve secure satellite communications for mobile U.S. forces.

Five of the Lockheed Martin MUOS satellites will eventually be launched to form the constellation. Think of them as high-flying cell towers -- 22,000 miles above Earth, in fact. Two MUOS satellites launched in 2012 and 2013. Ultimately, the constellation and network will extend narrowband communications availability past 2025. Work on the core propulsion system for the A2100 satellite-based spacecraft is done by Lockheed Martin at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)

-- Praxair Inc., of Danbury, Conn., was awarded a five-year, $53 million contract by NASA to provide liquid hydrogen to Stennis Space Center, Miss.; Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; Marshall Space Flight Center, Ala.; and Glenn Research Center, Ohio. NASA uses liquid hydrogen as fuel for rocket engine development, testing and the launching of spacecraft. (Post)


Contracts
L-3 Communications Vertex of Madison, Miss., was awarded two contracts by DoD, one for $15.6 million and the other for $16.4 million, each for six month extensions of the current bridge contract at Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, Texas, to provide highly specialized aircraft production indirect labor services augmenting the civilian workforce. ... Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems Inc., Bethesda, Md., was awarded a $37.6 million contract modification to exercise the first option for the Next Generation Technical Services (NGTS) III requirement. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; Stennis Space Center, Miss.; Vicksburg, Miss.; and Lorton, Va.

Week in review (1/11 to 1/17)

Airbus moves toward increasing A320 production; more jobs posted for Airbus in Mobile, Ala.; the resignation of the top job recruiter in Florida; and the streamlining at United Technologies were among the stories of interest to the Gulf Coast region during the week.

Here's the week in review:

Airbus
Airbus is moving closer towards raising production of its A320. The company declared the supply chain is stable, and hinted on a decision to produce more A320s in coming months. Airbus produces 42 A320-family jets a month and is targeting 46 a month. Airbus is building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., that will open in the fall of this year. (Post)

Speaking of the Airbus plant in Mobile, the company is looking for a final assembly line planner and delivery planner. Both require at least nine months' training abroad, and both require at least an associate's degree with a bachelor's degree preferred. (Post)

-- China Aircraft Leasing Co. has firmed up its contract with Airbus for 100 A320 family aircraft. The order comprises 74 A320neo, 16 A320ceo and 10 A321ceo. Including this new order, China Aircraft Leasing’s backlog with Airbus stands at 140 A320 family aircraft. (Post)


Rolls-Royce
Spanish carrier Air Europa has selected Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines for 14 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Rolls-Royce powered the first 787 test flight in December 2009, the first 787-8 to enter service in 2011 and the first 787-9 to enter service last year. Trent engines are tested at the company’s test facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


UTC
United Technologies Corp. is eliminating UTC Propulsion and Aerospace Systems and creating two stand-alone business units: engine-maker Pratt and Whitney and UTC Aerospace Systems. UT Aerospace Systems has 160 locations, including UTC in Foley, Ala. (Post)


F-35
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $7 million modification to a previously awarded delivery order. This modification authorizes two additional Engineering Change Proposals for air vehicle retrofit modifications to be incorporated into designated F-35 aircraft, and includes retrofit modification kits, installation, and labor.

Five percent of the work will be done at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Other work locations will be in Fort Worth, Texas; Ogden, Utah; Cherry Point, N.C.; Yuma, Ariz.; and Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (Post)


Economic development
Florida's top jobs recruiter is stepping down. Gray Swoope, the state's secretary of commerce and head of Enterprise Florida, is resigning at the end of February. Swoope, who came to Florida after leading Mississippi’s economic development team, served during the entire first term of Gov. Rick Scott. Swoope said he plans to remain in Florida but did not say what he plans to do next. (Post)


Contracts
L-3 Communications Corp., Madison, Miss., was awarded a $60.3 million modification
to previous contract to support maintenance for the Army's fleet of C-12/RC-12/UC-35 fixed wing aircraft. Work will be performed in Madison. … HX5 of Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $3 million incentive contract for advisory and assistance services. The contractor will provide combat rescue helicopter program support. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. … Williams Electric Co. Inc., of Fort Walton Beach was among 10 companies added as awardees to previously announced $2.5 billion contract for services necessary to perform the procurement and installation of utility monitoring and control systems, and similar services such as heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, building automation systems, supervisory control and data acquisition systems and other automated control systems and electronic security systems and/or force protection measures worldwide.

Week in review (1/4 to 1/10)

Je Suis Charlie

The terrorists who thought murdering unarmed journalists was the best way to silence what they found offensive didn't understand human nature. The best way to ensure people will do something is to tell them they can't.

"We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us." – Francois Rabelais

"There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable." – Mark Twain

That said, here's your aerospace week in review:


Space
SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Saturday morning in a mission to bring supplies to the International Space Station and its six astronauts. But another part of the mission, the unprecedented return of the first stage to a floating barge in the Atlantic Ocean, failed.

The company's founder, Elon Musk, said the first stage of the rocket made it to the platform east of Jacksonville, Fla., but the booster came down too hard and broke apart. Activities of SpaceX are of interest to this region because the company plans to test its latest generation rocket engine at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)

While we're on the subject of Stennis Space Center, the RS-25 engine that will power America's Space Launch System launch vehicle into deep space had its first successful test Friday at NASA's rocket engine testing facility in South Mississippi. The RS-25, formerly the space shuttle main engine, fired up for 500 seconds on the A-1 test stand. It was the first hot fire of an RS-25 engine since the end of space shuttle main engine testing in 2009. Four RS-25s will power the SLS on future missions that will launch the Orion capusule into space. (Post)

-- The third Mobile User Objective System satellite is scheduled to launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Jan. 20. The MUOS satellite is designed to improve secure satellite communications for mobile U.S. forces. Five of the Lockheed Martin MUOS satellites will eventually be launched to form the constellation. Work on the propulsion system for the A2100 satellite-based spacecraft is done at Stennis Space Center. (Post)


F-35
Turkey plans to buy four more F-35 fighters from the United States, in addition to the two it had already ordered, according to the country's defense ministry. Turkey has long planned to purchase 100 jets to replace its F-4 and F-16 fleet, but increasing costs have hampered the acquisitions. Turkey is one of the nine partner nations that helped fund development of the Lockheed Martin F-35. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. (Post)

In another F-35 item during the week, the Pentagon said the two squadrons of U.S. Air Force F-35s will be based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom. The first aircraft are scheduled to arrive at Lakenheath in 2020. At the same time the Pentagon announced that decision, it announced the consolidation of some U.S. infrastructure in Europe. It includes the return of 15 sites to host nations. It’s part of the European Reassurance Initiative, and will save the U.S. $500 million annually. Changes will impact the U.K., Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal. (Post)


Bases
Speaking of bases, Florida's Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Whiting Field won a sweep of the Navy's 2015 Installation Excellence Awards. NAS Pensacola was No. 1 in the large base category, and Whiting was No. 1 in the small base category. The award lauds the top Navy commands at shore for their installation management, program excellence and community outreach. Now the two first-place winners compete for the nomination to represent the Navy for the DoD-wide 2015 Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence, which will be announced in the spring. (Post)

-- The 325th Fighter Wing is now conducting a deployment exercise designed to test the wing's ability to deliver combat air power. The exercise will evaluate the wing’s ability to prepare personnel, aircraft and support equipment for a simulated departure. The wing typically exercises a variety of situations six times a year ranging from hurricane preparations to emergency responses. The 325th Fighter Wing's primary mission is to train and project combat power for F-22 Raptor pilots and maintenance personnel. (Post)

-- Air Force Col. Daniel J. Orcutt of Hurlburt Field, Fla., has been nominated for appointment to the rank of brigadier general. Orcutt is currently serving as commander, 505th Command and Control Wing, Air Combat Command, Hurlburt Field. (Post)

-- Scientists and engineers at the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory at Alabama’s Fort Rucker recently tested a device that may make hoist rescues less risky. The Enroute Care and Airworthiness Division, using an HH-60M, Army medic, rescue basket and crash dummy, tested an anti-rotational device designed to reduce the potential for an uncontrolled spin of a stretcher being lifted to the helicopter. (Post)


Airbus, Boeing
Airbus increased its deliveries in 2014, setting a new company record, a source at the
company told Reuters during the week. The Airbus Group subsidiary beat its 2013 peak of 626 deliveries. An Airbus spokesman would not comment on orders or deliveries ahead of the annual news conference Jan. 13. Meanwhile, Boeing set a record in 2014 for commercial airplane deliveries and orders, the company said. Boeing delivered 723 commercial airplanes last year, breaking a company record for the second consecutive year. Airbus is building an A320 family final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., that will open this year. (Post)

While on the subject of Airbus, the company posted its first available position of 2015 for its A320 final assembly line being built at the Mobile Aeroplex. It’s for a quality services technician, responsible for implementing and monitoring quality management processes and procedures. (Post)


Economic development
Two industrial parks in Santa Rosa County, Fla., have been certified by Gulf Power's "Florida First Sites" program. They are Northwest Florida Industrial Park at Interstate 10 and Santa Rosa County Industrial Park. Certification means the sites have proper zoning, service to utilities and meet other qualifications that make them ready for development. Both sites are targeting aerospace along with other types of businesses. The first site certified as VentureCrossing in Bay County, Fla., which also targets aerospace. (Post)


Unmanned
Northrop Grumman Global Hawks unmanned systems in all its variants have flown more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission hours in one week than ever before. Global Hawks flew 781 hours from Sept. 10-16. The Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk flew 87 percent of the missions, while the Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstration aircraft and NASA's Global Hawk hurricane research assets flew the rest. Global Hawks are manufactured at Northrop Grumman facilities in Moss Point, Miss., and Palmdale, Calif. (Post)


Contract
Exelis, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo., was awarded an $8.4 million modification to a previously awarded contract for system sustainment. The contractor will sustain the infrastructure of the C-6 radar to include the weapon system management and engineering; field service team; radome maintenance; and requirements definition, analysis, and modeling. Work will be done at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2015. Space and Missile Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (12/28 to 1/3)

Anyone who follows aerospace news from this region will easily recall the long battle between Boeing and Airbus to build aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force. Airbus, which at the time went by EADS, hoped to build them in Mobile, Ala.

Boeing won the contract to build the planes in Everett, Wash.

Last weekend Boeing and the Air Force successfully completed the first flight of the KC-46 tanker test program. The Boeing 767-2C took off from Paine Field, Wash., and landed three hours and 32 minutes later at Boeing Field. The aircraft will receive its military systems following certification. Boeing is under contract to deliver the first 18 of 179 KC-46 aircraft to the Air Force by 2017. (Post)

Mobile lost out on that contract, but ended up with something that is, arguably, far better. It is the home of an Airbus A320 final assembly line. The plant will open in the fall of this year, and the first jetliner – an A321 for JetBlue – will roll out of the plant in 2016.


Contracts
Four contracts announced by the Department of Defense during the week have ties to the Gulf Coast Interstate 10 aerospace corridor. They have a cumulative value of $96.6 million, and two of the contracts involve Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

In one contract, Jacobs Technology Inc. of Fort Walton Beach was awarded a $42.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the development of a launch test set complex for prototype testing and qualification of a launcher subsystem for the U.S. Navy and the government of the United Kingdom.

Work will be done in China Lake, Calif., and is expected to be completed in December 2019. The contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (90 percent) and the government of the United Kingdom (10 percent) under the foreign military sales program. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake is the contracting activity. (Post)

In another contract, Cubic Defense Applications Inc. of San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $15.2 million contract to design, develop, integrate and test hardware and weapons simulations source code software for the Royal Saudi Air Force P5 combat training system.

Cubic also will provide contractor logistics support of on-site advice and informal training in operation and maintenance of Saudi P5 CTS equipment at King Abulaziz, King Faisal, King Khalid and King Fahad Air Bases in Saudi Arabia.

The P5 system is designed to provide real-time training for air-to-air, air-to-ground and surface-to-air combat missions by recording mission data, relay time, space and positioning information between participating aircraft during training sorties. The system is used by the military in the Gulf Coast region.

Work will primarily be performed at San Diego and Fort Walton Beach, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 17, 2017. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Post)

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin is also the contracting activity for another contract. In this one, Raytheon Co. Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded an $18.7 million contract for HARM targeting system contractor logistic support. Contractor will provide depot repair services and sustaining engineering for HTS pods, as well as a variety of other HTS sustainment-related services and supplies. (Post)

The fourth contract of interest to the region was awarded to Cymstar Services LLC of Broken Arrow, Okla. It was awarded a $20.4 million contract modification for operations and sustainment support for the C-130J maintenance and aircrew training system devices, as well as material and travel costs to support the effort. The work will be done at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., Little Rock AFB, Ark., and Dyess AFB, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2015. (Post)