Week in review (10/25 to 10/31)

For those who have been following this weekly summary of aerospace activities in the Gulf Coast I-10 region, you may be interested in a new business publication coming in January.

It's the Gulf Coast Reporters' League Business Quarterly, and it will provide you with business stories covering the Interstate 10 corridor between Baton Rouge, La., and Tallahassee, Fla. There are nine metropolitan areas along the corridor and more than 4.4 million people.

To learn more about the publication and the highly experienced journalists behind it, go to the league's website. Signup to have the free magazine PDF delivered to your email when the first issue is published Jan. 5, or sign up for the blog.

Now for your aerospace week in review:


Airbus
Airbus said at the end of the week that it plans to significantly increase production of its A320 family of jetliners before the end of the decade. The company has reached a compromise with suppliers over the capacity of the supply chain.

Airbus and Boeing have been riding a sustained wave of orders from fast-growing airlines, particularly in emerging markets. There has also been significant pent-up demand from American carriers.

The increase at Airbus would push output of the jet beyond its latest target of 50 a month to 60 of the single-aisle A320 series of jetliners by the middle of 2019. Airbus builds A320 jetliners at four plants, one in Germany, one in France, one in China and now one in the United States in Mobile, Ala. (Post)

Meanwhile, back in Mobile, Airbus is seeking four quality inspectors for its U.S. Manufacturing Facility. The quality inspectors-final assembly line are responsible for the execution and confirmation of quality inspections in the production process in the Final Assembly Line Hangar. (Post)


Unmanned
The Navy expects to begin operations of its unmanned fixed-wing Triton and the larger version of the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter in 2018. That’s according to Pat Buckley, the Navy’s deputy program executive officer for unmanned aerial systems.

He said the MQ-4C Triton, the maritime version of the Global Hawk, and the MQ-8C version of the Fire Scout would reach initial operational capability in 2018. He also said a surface-search radar and possibly a weapons capability would be added to the MQ-8C in 2019.

Fuselage work on Global Hawk variants and finishing work on Fire Scouts is done by Northrop Grumman in Moss Point, Miss. (Post)


F-35
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $120.6 million modification to the previously awarded low-rate initial production Lot IX F-35 advance acquisition contract to procure the non-recurring engineering effort. Work will be done in Fort Worth and is expected to be completed in June 2018. (Post)

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. also was awarded a $64.5 million modification to a previously awarded advanced acquisition contract for long lead materials and efforts associated with the production of the low-rate initial production 11 Japanese F-35A air systems for the government of Japan under the Foreign Military Sales program.

Work will be done in Fort Worth and is expected to be completed in February 2016. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity for both the F-35 contracts. (Post)

Also during the week, Pratt and Whitney Military Engines of East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $104.3 million modification to a previously awarded contract for low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot IX in support of the F-135 engines for the F-35 for the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, non -U.S. Department of Defense participants and foreign military sales customers.

Work will be performed in East Hartford and Indianapolis, Ind., and is expected to be completed in September 2018. The contract combines purchases for the Air Force, Navy, Marines, non-U.S. DoD participants and foreign military sales. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)


Bases
Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., hosted the 26th annual Naval Helicopter Association Fleet Fly-In during the week. It included more than two dozen Navy, Marine and Coast Guard helicopters.

The four-day event was designed to show students the aircraft they will fly when they go out in the fleet. Aerospace companies, including Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Bell Helicopter and Sikorsky, had displays. (Post)


Space
The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce will host a NASA Business Forum at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 4. The cost is $75 per person, includes breakfast and lunch, and is open to all area and regional businesses.

Featured at the forum will be senior procurement experts from four NASA centers in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, as well as representatives from major aerospace prime contractors. Contact Brenda Rembert at 251-431-8607 to register or for more information. (Post)


Contracts
2H&V Construction Services, Bonifay, Fla., and ESA South Inc., Cantonment, Fla., were among six companies awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award design-bid-build construction contract for construction projects located primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast area of responsibility (AOR). The maximum dollar value including the base period and four option years for all six contracts combined is $75,000,000. All work on this contract will be performed primarily within the NAVFAC Southeast AOR, including Pensacola, Panama City and Whiting Field, Fla., and the remainder of NAVFAC Southeast AOR. … Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded an $11.2 million contract action for 225 Enhanced Paveway II /Guided Bomb Unit-49 kits. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be complete by Aug. 30, 2016. This contract is 100 percent foreign military sales to Canada. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (10/18 to 10/24)

There was a story during the week in Mississippi that was picked up by the Associated Press about the concern in South Mississippi over a future round of base closings and realignments.

The story said that officials are gearing up to defend the bases: Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, the Navy's activities at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis and the National Guard's Trent Lott Training Complex in Gulfport and Camp Shelby to the north near Hattiesburg. They are all valuable facilities with unique missions.

But the story had information that made me grimace, and I hope the folks who are trying to protect the bases don't use it as part of the argument. The story said there are 750 companies in the three coastal counties, Harrison, Hancock and Jackson, that have had Department of Defense contracts. It said 321 contracts worth more than $1 billion were awarded in 2014 alone to companies in the three counties. That's true, but to connect this to the presence of the bases is misleading.

The vast majority of the money, $968 million, awarded in 2014 to companies in those three counties went to contractrors in just one county, Jackson County. And of that amount, $906 million was awarded to Huntington Ingalls, builder of expensive, massive ships for the Navy and Coast Guard. The bases in South Mississippi had nothing to do with the awarding of that money.

And there's another point to consider. Of the remaining amount awarded to companies in the three counties, a lot of it is for work outside of South Mississippi. True, the money awarded to South Mississippi companies benefits the local economy, but to make the connection to the local bases is a fallacy and detracts from the argument for keeping the bases.

What I don't know is if this is part of the argument South Mississippi officials plan to use or if the reporter simply put in the additional information about contracts to show the value of military spending to South Mississippi. I would hope it's the latter.

Now for your week in review:


Space
Last week we went to see the movie "The Martian," in part because I've been a space nut since I was a kid and watched our early efforts in space. I've come to expect us to be the leader in exploring the final frontier.

NASA's Space Launch System program, which is the space agency's effort to send astronauts deeper into space then ever before, recently reached a major milestone when it completed its Critical Design Review.

This is the first time since the 1970s that NASA has completed CDR on a major new launch vehicle. Major subsystems such as Orion’s launch abort system and the SLS RS-25 engines have recently completed successful testing. Experts from NASA and industry validated that the SLS, as designed, meets all system requirements and is within cost and schedule constraints. It's a way of giving a "go" for production, assembly, integration and testing of the vehicle as a whole.

Boeing, Orbital ATK, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Lockheed Martin are building the SLS and Orion spacecraft for NASA’s crewed exploration missions that will travel beyond the moon and into deep space. And our region is a major player.

Boeing and Lockheed are using Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to build the SLS core stage and Orion, respectively, and Aerojet Rocketdyne is using engine test facilities at Stennis Space Center, Miss., for the RS-25 tests. (Post)


Unmanned
Workers in Moss Point, Miss., are currently building the fuselages for Global Hawks that will be going to South Korea. Northrop Grumman will deliver the first pair of South Korea's four RQ-4B Block 30 Global Hawks in 2018. The second pair will be delivered in 2019. South Korea's $657 million acquisition of the Global Hawks was announced in December 2014. (Post)


Bases
Naval Air Station Whiting Field has been named one of two Navy Region Southeast nominees for Commander Navy Installation Command's national "Installation Excellence Award" in the small base category for 2015. The Santa Rosa base, along with NAS Pensacola, was CNIC's excellence award winner last year. The second base selected was Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. (Post)


Contracts
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded two contracts during the week that are of interest to the Gulf Coast region. It was awarded a $13 million modification to exercise the option on a previously awarded contract for F-22 air vehicle sustainment. Work will be performed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2015. The company also was awarded a $7.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract. It will provide F-22 sustainment for Reliability and Maintainability Maturation Program Project SE21, Stores Management System wrap around tester cable sets (quantity of 20) and self testers (quantity of 2). Work will be performed at Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be complete by Nov. 30, 2017. Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is home of F-22 training and an operational squadron. … Jacobs Technology Inc., Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $45 million modification to a contract for global logistics and support services to the Army Sustainment Command Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) and Army Contracting Command-Rock Island (ACC- RI) LOGCAP and Reachback Divisions. Funding and work location will be determined with each order with an estimated completion date of Oct. 20, 2016. … L-3 Communications Corp., Systems Field Support, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $12 million modification to exercise the option on a previously awarded contract for C-12 contractor logistics support. Work will be performed in Maryland, California, Alaska, New Mexico, Texas, Ghana, Turkey, Thailand, Columbia, Brazil, Hungary, Argentina, Egypt, Botswana, Pakistan, the Philippines, Kenya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Honduras, and Japan and is expected to be complete by March 31, 2016.

Week in review (10/11 to 10/17)

We've been getting a lot of indications for a while now that the Airbus A320 plant in Mobile, Ala., which had its official inaugural last month, will end up building more than four planes a month.

Now Mayor Sandy Stimpson has added his voice to the discussion. He told Reuters that Airbus is likely to increase aircraft output in Mobile beyond its current target. He said he based his view on public statements by Airbus and conversations with Airbus officials, not special knowledge of Airbus plans.

Airbus has said it could produce up to eight single-aisle jetliners a month at the plant at Mobile Aeroplex, but plans to build four a month by 2017. An Airbus spokeswoman said there were "currently no plans to change that rate."

Airbus has a backlog of 5,502 orders for its A320 family of jetliners. That's nearly 11 years of production. (Post)

Not surprisingly, Airbus came up during the 19th annual Gulf Power Symposium held early in the week at Sandestin resort. The two-day symposium had some 650 people registered, a number that keeps growing every year. This year the theme was "Think Big, Think Northwest Florida."

The symposium covers a range of economic topics, from tourism to ports and more. One talk focused on aerospace, a key growth area for Florida and the rest of the Gulf Coast I-10 corridor.

Kevin Michael, vice president of ICF International, discussed the Southeast and its growing role in the aerospace supply chain. He said a combination of factors, including increasing labor costs overseas and new technologies, has made the United States, and particularly the Southeast, appealing to the aerospace industry.

Michael's talk was called "Rightshoring: The New Aerospace Supply Chain Imperative." He said the offshoring trend that began in 2000 has changed, and in 2012 something he calls rightshoring began to take hold.

That occurred when labor costs outside the United States went up and labor became a smaller portion of the cost of manufacturing. He said one issue that may impact the Southeast is Airbus' request to suppliers to cut costs by 10 percent. He said that might prompt some European suppliers to take another look at the United States as an option. (Post)


Contracts
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $17.6 million delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement. This order provides for the procurement of retrofit modification kits and associated engineering installation services in support of the Block 3F upgrade of two F-35A aircraft for non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (90 percent); and Baltimore, Md. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. 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. … Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., was awarded a $305.5 million contract for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile production. Contractor will provide Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile production, system upgrades, integration, sustainment, management, and logistical support. Work will be performed at Troy, Ala., and is expected to be complete by June 30, 2018. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … The Boeing Defense, Space & Security Missile and Unmanned Airborne Systems, St. Louis, Mo., was awarded an $11.8 million modification to the previously awarded contract for engineering and manufacturing development of the B61-12 tailkit assembly. Contractor will provide additional test assets, materials, and hardware to enable the demonstration of the reliability of the B61-12 tailkit assembly. Work will be performed at St. Louis and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2017. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

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

It's always tough when we lose someone who's serving our country. But it happens. And that was the case last week when a C-130J crashed after takeoff in Afghanistan. Six U.S. airmen, including one from Pensacola, were killed.

Five civilian contractors were also aboard the cargo plane that crashed Oct. 2 at Jalalabad Airfield. The Pensacola airman was Nathan Sartain, 29, who was assigned to the 66th Security Forces Squadron, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation. The six airmen were part of the 317th Airlift Group of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing based at Bagram Airfield about 30 miles north of Kabul.

On a far brighter note, I hope you had a chance to take a look at the most recent issue of the 8-page Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor/Gulf Coast Reporters’ League newsletter that was published Tuesday.

One of the stories was about the inaugural last month of the Airbus plant in Mobile, Ala. I went to the inaugural along with photographer Michelle Thomas. Airbus is still months away from finishing its first jetliner at the plant, but it's fascinating to see it take shape.

You can take a look at the progress and get a sense of how the planes are made by taking a look at the story and photos. (Post)

We also had a story on the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. Since Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, the airport has undergone $200 million in renovation work to improve, including a terminal twice as big as it was before the devastating storm. Take a look at the story by Melissa Scallan. (Post)

In another story, Lisa Monti wrote about NASA's Space Grant program, a leader in STEM education before STEM became cool. The states with a piece of the Interstate 10 aerospace corridor have a combined four NASA consortiums that can help the region prepare the next generation for exciting careers in the final frontier. Monti's feature story tells you more about the NASA program. (Post)

Finally, I wrote about the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition’s involvement in a NASA robotics program. IHMC is fascinating, not matter what project you want to write about, but this one really piqued my interest.

When humanoid robots one day build living and working quarters on Mars for astronauts, it's likely they'll owe much of their capabilities to cutting-edge computer programs developed by scientists from Pensacola's IHMC. We tell you about Valkyrie and Atlas, the robot that won IHMC second place in an international robotics competition. (Post)


Contract
Jacobs Technology, Tullahoma, Tenn., was awarded an estimated $85.4 million modification to exercise the option on a previously awarded contract for additional technical and engineering acquisition support services. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be complete by Oct. 18, 2016. Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity.

Week in review (9/27 to 10/3)

The latest edition of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor/Gulf Coast Reporters League bimonthly aerospace newsletter will be published Tuesday.

In this issue we have a story about scientists and technicians in Pensacola who are providing key programs that will help in this nation's return to space exploration. We also have a story about jetliner No. 6512, the first one being built at the Airbus plant in Mobile, Ala., and the process that's involved. We also have a story about NASA's long-standing Space Grant program, a STEM project that was ahead of its time, and we take a look at changes at Mississippi's Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.

You can find the 8-page newsletter Tuesday by visiting our website, or if you like, you can subscribe and have it delivered to your inbox. It's always free thanks to our underwriters.

Now for your week in review:


Airbus
An engine on an Airbus A320neo jet was found to have suffered damage following flight trials in hot-weather conditions, marking a setback for the Pratt & Whitney-made turbine. The issue was found in one of the test aircraft's two engines. The precise issue was not specified.

Deliveries of the single-aisle plane should still begin as scheduled later this year, with the first A320neo going to Qatar Airways. That plane will be powered by PW1100G engines. A competing turbine is offered by CFM International, a joint venture of GE Aviation and Safran.

That joint venture is also making the engines that will power the first A321 being built at the Airbus plant in Mobile. The plant is currently building planes with the normal engine option but will eventually build neo variants. (Post)

And what else might they eventually build in Mobile? Could Mobile workers one day build military aerial tankers? Allan McArtor, Airbus Group CEO, told National Defense magazine that if a future competition required that military tankers be built domestically, Airbus would expand its facilities in Alabama to compete.

"That is our industrial home. If we had an opportunity to bid on a tanker program, that is where it would be."

Airbus competed against Boeing to supply tankers to the Air Force, but Boeing won on the second go-around. McArtor is convinced the Air Force would consider buying an Airbus tanker to supplement the Boeing 767-based KC-46A fleet. (Post)


Military
The Navy's last flying T-2C Buckeye made its final flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on Sept. 25. It capped 56 years of the aircraft type's service to the fleet.

Although the T-2s were officially retired from service in 2008 with a "sundown" ceremony at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 20 at NAS Patuxent River continued to use three Buckeyes as safety chase aircraft during test and evaluation flights of the E-2D Hawkeye, P-8A Poseidon and MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial system. (Post)


F-35
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $28.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract to upgrade the low-rate initial production Autonomic Logistics Operating Unit and all fielded Autonomic Logistics Design Development (ALIS) systems to ALIS software release 2.0.2 in support of the F-35 aircraft.

Work will be done in Florida, including Valparaiso, Texas, Arizona, California, Utah, South Carolina, Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel and Italy and is expected to be completed in December 2017. (Post)

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth also was awarded a $20.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract to provide additional funding for concurrency related changes to the F-35 aircraft and the supporting subsystems for the Navy/Marine Corps and Air Force.

Work will be done in Texas, Georgia and California and is expected to be completed in December 2018. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity for both of the Lockheed contracts. (Post)


NASA
NASA awarded a blanket purchase agreement to Esri in Redlands, Calif., to provide geospatial software licenses and maintenance. It has a one-year base ordering period and four one-year options and a potential contract value of $9.5 million.

The period of performance begins Oct. 1 and, if all options are exercised, the last ordering period will end Sept. 30, 2020. The contract will be administered by the Enterprise License Management Team at the NASA Shared Services Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)

NASA also awarded a contract to National Instruments Corporation of Austin, Texas, to provide system design software and measurement and control systems hardware while consolidating the procurement of agency end-user software licenses.

It has a one-year base period and four one-year options. The period of performance will begin Sept. 30, 2015 with a potential end date of Sept. 27, 2020 and total value of $37.7 million. This contract also will be administered by the Enterprise License Management Team at the NASA Shared Services Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


Unmanned
Northrop Grumman won a contract worth up to $3.2 billion for continued development, modernization and maintenance of Air Force variants of the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft. The contract will allow the Air Force to order parts and services as needed through Sept. 30, 2020, with all work to be completed by Sept. 30, 2025. Northrop Grumman builds several variants of Global Hawk, including Triton, the maritime variant for the Navy. Fuselages work for all variants is done by Northrop Grumman in Moss Point, Miss. (Post)


Contracts
Pettibone Concrete Construction Inc., Panama City, Fla., was awarded a $48.9 million contract for Tyndall Air Force Base airfield civil works. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 29, 2020. The 325th Contracting Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $50 million contract for support to the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile AIM-120D system improvement program. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2022. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Flight Safety International Inc., Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia Airport, Flushing, N.Y., was awarded a $35 million modification to a contract for an extension of the existing contract for fixed-wing flight training services. Work will be done in Ft. Rucker, Ala., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2016. Army Contracting Command, Ft. Rucker, is the contracting activity. … L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $57.2 million contract for logistics support of the T-1A aircraft. Work will be performed at Vance Air Force Base, Okla.; Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.; Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas; Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas; and Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2016. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (9/20 to 9/26)

Airbus wants suppliers of its A320 family of jetliners to cut prices by at least 10 percent by 2019 in order to make the company's cash cow more competitive. That's according to three people familiar with the matter, as reported by Reuters.

Airbus has told suppliers that the prospect of increased volumes and a longer lifespan for its best-selling jet means it is time to review all options in its supply chain. The demand echoes rival Boeing's cost-cutting Partner for Success initiative. (Post)

Both companies are experiencing high demand for single-aisle jetliners, and keeping pace is a real issue for both companies. Airbus just this month opened its newest A320 assembly line in Mobile, Ala., and Boeing said it plans to open a 737 completion and delivery center in China. It's Boeing's first outside the United States, a move that doesn't make unions very happy. (Story)

Speaking of the Mobile assembly line, delivery of the first A321 jetliner produced at the company's plant is several weeks behind schedule due to problems with a supplier. Still, Airbus said it expects to deliver it on time to JetBlue in the second quarter of 2016.

Allan McArtor, chairman and CEO of Airbus Group, said there were issues with jigs and tools, referring to the large structures that hold parts in place, as well as the tools used to join parts. But he notes Airbus has enough flexibility to catch up. (Post)


Space
Airbus Defense and Space, prime contractor for NASA's Orion space vehicle's European
Service Module, has completed four large titanium tanks for the module that will be delivered for initial testing.

The tanks will be first transported to Italy, where the structural test model will be assembled before being tested in the United States. The next step is to build the engineering model that will be assembled and tested at Airbus Defense and Space in Bremen, Germany.

The Orion is assembled by Lockheed Martin at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where Boeing is building the core stage of the Space Launch System. The Rocketdyne engines that power the core stage of SLS are slated for testing at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


Contracts
The Boeing Corp., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $36.3 million modification on a previously awarded contract. Contractor will provide research and development leading to the procurement of 60 long delay fuzes and development of an embedded fuze system. Work will be performed at St. Louis. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $160.2 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for the organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance and logistics services in support of approximately 200 T-45 aircraft based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Miss.; NAS Kingsville, Texas; NAS Pensacola, Fla.; and NAS Patuxent River, Md. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $180 million. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (9/13 to 9/19)

Hundreds of dignitaries, from corporate officials and three ambassadors, were on hand in Mobile, Ala., early in the week for the formal opening of the $600 million Airbus A320 assembly plant at the Mobile Aeroplex.

With partially built A321 jetliners flanking the assembled dignitaries and media representatives from around world, the crowd applauded when a sign was placed on one of the plane sections that said "This aircraft proudly made in the USA…"

The event closed with the sound of "Sweet Home Alabama" playing in the background. The first jetliner being built at the plant is an A321 for JetBlue, which will take delivery in 2016. (Post)

In another Airbus-related news story during the week, MAAS Aviation received tax abatements totaling nearly $2.2 million Wednesday for construction of a proposed $13 million second paint facility at Mobile Aeroplex.

Announced during the Paris Air Show in June 2015, the paint facility would target third-party original equipment manufacturers; maintenance, repair and overhaul providers; and potential military clients.

Ireland-based MAAS said in April 2014 that it was building a $13 million paint facility at the Mobile Aeroplex to service Airbus jets. In June at the 2015 Paris Air Show it said it would build a two-bay $39 million facility. That figure included several long-term investment proposals. (Post)


Airports
Sunil Harman is leaving as the director of Okaloosa County’s airports Sept. 30 to pursue other opportunities. It was announced during a meeting of the Okaloosa County commission Tuesday.

Harman, who was not at the meeting, was hired in July 2013 to oversee the county’s three airports. Prior to taking the Okaloosa job, Harman was director of the airport in Tallahassee. (Post)


F-35
Pratt & Whitney Military Engines of East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $10.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract to retrofit the F-35B F-135 propulsion system for the Navy/Marine Corps and the international partners, including the installation of a redesigned lift fan inter-stage vane.

Work will be done in Indianapolis, Ind., and is expected to be completed in December 2016. Fiscal 2015 aircraft procurement (Navy) and international partner funds in the amount of $10,642,496 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The contract combines purchases for the Navy/Marine Corps (98 percent) and the international partners (2 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. (Post)


Contracts
Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded two contracts of interest to this region during the week. The first was a $100 million contract for Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) production support. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2020. The company also was awarded a $10.8 million contract modification for the repair of legacy control sections for the High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) missile (AGM-88). Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2017. For both contracts, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Summit Construction Inc., Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., was awarded a $6.9 million contract for the architectural and refrigeration upgrade to the commissary at Fort Myer, Va. The contracting activity is the Defense Commissary Agency, Enterprise Acquisition Division, Construction and Design Branch, Joint Base San Antionio Lackland, Texas.

RoboTeam, Gaithersburg, Md., was awarded a $25 million contract for an explosive ordnance disposal small robot. Work will be performed worldwide as necessary and is expected to be complete by Sept. 16, 2022. The 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … KTU+A, San Diego, Calif., was awarded a maximum amount $7.5 million contract for professional planning and engineering services in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast area of responsibility (AOR). Task order 0001 is being awarded at $106,190 for developing basic facility requirements and Department of Defense 1391s for the Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Noble Supply and Logistics, Rockland, Mass., was awarded a $9 million contract for a contractor operated civil engineer supply store. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2016. Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. … Scientific Systems Co. Inc., Woburn, Mass., was awarded a $6.6 million SBIR III contract for advanced navigation common capability. Contractor will expand upon ANCC previous work by generalizing the process of integrating the technology into weapon systems. Work will be performed at Woburn and is expected to be complete by Sept. 14, 2017. Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … M1 Support Services, Denton, Texas, was awarded a $20 million modification to exercise the option on previously awarded contract. One of the work sites is Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (8/30 to 9/12)

If you're a regular reader of this column, you know I didn't have one last week. But I was busy putting the gears in motion for a new Gulf Coast Reporters’ League publication that I feel certain will eventually prompt some well-it's-about-time reactions.

I'll fill you in more in the near future as it all takes shape. Now, here's your Gulf Coast aerospace week in review:


Airbus
It's hard to overstate the significance of what's happening starting this weekend in Mobile, Ala. Think of it as the happily-ever-after ending of a journey that started in 2005. That was the year that EADS, now known as the Airbus Group, started looking for a site in the United States to build tankers for the U.S. Air Force. It chose Mobile.

The tanker project went to Boeing, but Airbus liked what it saw in Alabama's port city and picked the city for another, even more significant project. Now, 10 years later, the European aerospace giant is having an invitation-only inaugural Monday at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley for its brand new, state-of-the-art A320 manufacturing plant.

We'll have a story and photos for you Monday on our Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor news feed. You'll find a brief summary on the feed itself, along with a link to the full story and photos. We'll also have a story in the October issue of the Gulf Coast Reporters’ League aerospace bimonthly.

But even before this event, there were other Airbus-related news of interest to the Gulf Coast during the past week. Engine-maker Rolls-Royce won a $700 million deal to supply and maintain engines for the new Airbus fleet of Beluga cargo jets.

Those odd-looking aircraft are used to transport large sections of new planes to the company's worldwide system of plants. The contract is to provide Trent 700 engines for to power the five new aircraft. The current Beluga fleet has engines made by GE. Rolls-Royce tests Trent engines at its outdoor test facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


F-35
Across the Atlantic, another new production plant marked a milestone during the week. The first F-35 assembled at Italy's Cameri Final Assembly and Check Out facility flew for the first time Monday. It was an hour and 22-minute flight, the first F-35 to fly outside North America.

The Cameri FACO is owned by the Italian government and operated by Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi in association with Lockheed Martin. F-35 production began in July 2013 and the first Italian F-35A, AL-1, rolled out in March. AL-1’s official delivery to Italy is expected by the end of the year. The facility will assemble Italy’s F-35A conventional variant and the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant. The plant will assemble the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s F-35A aircraft.

The Gulf Coast connections? Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center, and both Lockheed Martin and Finmeccanica have operations in the region. (Post)

In other F-35 news, multiple contracts have been awarded over the past couple of weeks. In the largest, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, late last month was awarded a $430.9 million contract for non-air vehicle spares, support equipment, Autonomic Logistics Information System hardware and software upgrades, supply chain management, full mission simulators and non-recurring engineering services in support of low-rate initial production Lot 9 F-35 aircraft. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics also was awarded early this month a $311.4 million contract for F-35 Block 3F upgrade for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and the government of the United Kingdom. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity. (Post)

Aso, United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney, Military Engines, of East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $249.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract to procure low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 9 propulsion system initial spares for the global spares pool. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Indianapolis, Ind., and Bristol, UK. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)

Finally, American Systems Corp., Chantilly, Va., was awarded a $6.8 million modification to previously awarded contracts for F-35 operational test and evaluation verification and validation. Work will be done at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., is the contracting activity. (Post)


Space
Engineers at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have welded together the first two segments of the Orion crew module that will fly atop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on a mission beyond the moon.

The primary structure of Orion's crew module is made of seven large aluminum pieces that must be welded together. NASA's prime contractor for the spacecraft, Lockheed Martin, is doing the production of the crew module at Michoud in east New Orleans. (Post)

Down at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the Navy's fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite recently launched. MUOS-4's signal was acquired about three hours after launch, completing the initial operational constellation and provides near global network coverage for warfighters and combatant commanders. Work on the core propulsion system for the A2100 satellite-based spacecraft was done by Lockheed Martin at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)


Education
A retired F-15C Eagle fighter is now at the Haney Technical Center in Lynn Haven, Fla. The jet was towed from Tyndall Air Force Base for at Haney. The school’s aviation program is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, and a curriculum will be designed around the fourth-generation fighter. (Post)


Contracts
Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $7 million modification to exercise an option on previously awarded contract for full food services. Work will be at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2017. The 81st Contracting Squadron, Keesler Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Technical Services Co. LLC, Indianapolis, Ind., was awarded a $10.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract for engineering, manufacturing and development for Joint Miniature Munitions Bomb Rack Unit development. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $100 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option to provide organizational, intermediate, depot-level maintenance and logistics services for the T-44, and organizational maintenance for T-6 aircraft. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, Whiting Field, Fla., and Pensacola, Fla. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. … L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $12 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for maintenance, repair, and logistics support for the Chief of Naval Air Training Aircraft's intermediate maintenance departments located at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. … Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, was awarded a $19.8 million modification to a delivery order previously issued against a basic ordering agreement in support of the V-22. Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is one of the sites where 1 percent of the work will be performed. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (8/23 to 8/29)

It was a busy week for Stennis Space Center, Miss., and the Space Launch System program designed to send astronauts further into space than ever before.

Former Space Shuttle Main Engine 0525, a developmental engine that's never been in space, completed its seventh static fire during the week at SSC. Now it's time for the Aerojet Rocketdyne flight engine 2059 to be put on the A-1 Test Stand for the next test series into next year.

NASA's Space Launch System will make its first flight in 2018. (Post)

Meanwhile, work has been completed at SSC on a steel tower for tests of the SLS, the world’s most powerful rocket. An additional 1 million pounds of structural steel was put on the B-2 test stand.

The addition of the structural framework is needed to support the height and weight of the massive rocket’s core stage. NASA has been renovating the B-2 Test Stand for more than two years in preparation for the SLS test series.

The historic test stand was built in the 1960s and previously used to test both the Saturn V and the space shuttle propulsion system. (Post)

In another space item during the week, NASA officials held a networking event in New Orleans for small businesses interested in doing business with the federal space agency or its contractors. The event drew about 100 people. (Post)


Airbus
GKN Aerospace executive Daryl Taylor was chosen to head the Airbus manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala. Taylor will oversee all systems and support staff at the Mobile facility, reporting directly to Airbus Americas president Barry Eccleston.

Taylor, who has been VP and GM of GKN Aerospace facilities in Kansas and California, previously worked for Bombardier. He'll train for his new role at Airbus facilities in Europe before assuming leadership in Mobile in coming months. (Post)


Military aircraft
Four F-22 Raptors and about 60 airmen from the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., are now at Germany's Spangdahlem Air Base to train with allied air forces and U.S. services through mid-September.

It's the first-ever F-22 training deployment to Europe. The training will prove that 5th generation fighters can deploy successfully to European bases and other NATO installations while also affording the chance for familiarization flight training within the European theater. (Post)

On the unmanned front, endurance capabilities of the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter were demonstrated on the West Coast on a planned 10-plus hour flight and range out to 150 nautical miles flight from Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu, Calif.

The MQ-8C Fire Scout achieved 11 hours with over an hour of fuel in reserve. The long range, long endurance flight was part of a series of capability based tests used by the Navy to validate their concept of operations and previously tested performance parameters.

The MQ-8C is built in part in Moss Point, Miss. It's a larger version of the MQ-8B, also built in part in Moss Point. (Post)


Economic development
The Bell Helicopter Lafayette Assembly Center officially opened for business during the week in Louisiana. The company will assemble the new commercial helicopter, the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X at the facility some 135 miles west of New Orleans.

Bell Helicopter, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, broke ground on the 82,300 square-foot helicopter assembly plant in August 2014 at the Lafayette Regional Airport. (Post)

Meanwhile, the Marianna/Jackson County Distribution/Construction Services Park has become the second certified site in Jackson County, Fla., through Gulf Power's Florida First Sites program.

The combined industrial park is 460 acres and is home to Family Dollar Distribution Center, Arizona Chemical and Hanson Precast Concrete. It is adjacent to Interstate 10 with 213 developable acres available.

Florida First Sites was created in 2013 to help communities prepare locations to attract new industries and new jobs to the region. Seven other Northwest Florida sites that have obtained certification include one more in Jackson County, two in Bay and Santa Rosa counties and one each in Okaloosa and Walton counties. (Post)

Over in Mississippi, a hangar at Mississippi’s Gulfport International Airport that was used during World War II is receiving a $2 million-plus facelift that will allow it to be used by the Air National Guard's Combat Readiness Training Center.

Built in 1944, the hangar was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. Airport Executive Director Clay Williams said construction will start in a few weeks and it should be completed in April. (Post)


Contracts
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded an $89.3 million modification to a previously awarded contract that provides for the system development and demonstration Phase I Increment 2, for the first aircraft arrival and initial operations in support of the F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) air system for the government of Israel under the Foreign Military Sales program. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. … Lakeview Center Inc., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded a $7.7 million contract for dining facility attendants and contingency cook support at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2020.

Week in review (8/16 to 8/22)

The Pegasus barge, which was used to transport Space Shuttle External Tanks from Louisiana to Florida, has been refitted in Louisiana for its new role in NASA's Space Launch System program.

The barge will be used to transport the 213-foot core stage of the SLS rocket from its production facility at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans various NASA centers, including Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Pegasus was last used to transport ground support equipment from the Space Shuttle program from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to Stennis Space Center. From 2011 to 2014 it was mothballed at SSC while work continued on the new SLS program.

Because the SLS is larger, NASA contracted with Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, La., to beef up Pegasus so it could be used for its new task. For a complete story on this $8.5 million refurbishing, read the item in NASA Spaceflight.


F-35
Lockheed Martin Aerospace has contracted with Cubic Global Defense to produce and enhance the Air Combat Training System in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Work includes the addition of an internally mounted subsystem of the P5 Combat Training System, or P5CTS, that enables the F-35 to maintain its stealth characteristics while training.

The P5 training system is an encrypted system interoperable with the P5CTS/Tactical Combat Training System used by the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, Navy, Marines and international partners. The training systems are used throughout the Gulf Coast region. (Post)


Airbus
India's largest domestic airline by market share, IndiGo, firmed up last year's commitment and ordered 250 A320neo family aircraft. With this order the A320neo order backlog is now over 4,100 aircraft.

That just underscores why Airbus opted to build another A320 assembly line. The new $600 million manufacturing plant in  plant in Mobile, Ala., will help Airbus fill its huge list of orders for the popular aircraft. The plant has its official opening Sept. 14. (Post)


Airports
The Mobile Regional Airport's concourse has been named in honor of Matthew S. "Matt" Metcalfe, who served for 35 years at the Mobile Airport Authority. Metcalfe, who retired in 2014 from MAA, now serves as director emeritus.

Among other things, Metcalfe played key roles in developing the Mobile Regional Airport and with the redevelopment of the former U.S. Air Force Base at Brookley Field in downtown Mobile into a general aviation facility and industrial park. (Post)


Bases
The Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape aircrew program at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., was inactivated during the week and will be consolidated with water survival at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

The 66th Training Squadron's Detachment 2 was inactivated in a ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum. The survival school has prepared aircrews from the Air Force, Army, Navy and NASA with training on how to prepare for survival after bailing out of an aircraft. (Post)


Contract
Potomac River Group LLC, Ashburn, Va., was awarded a $35.3 million contract to obtain certified contractor support to administer polygraph examinations for Naval Criminal Investigative Service counterintelligence scope polygraph examinations in support of the Navy Insider Threat program. Eleven percent of the work will be done in Pensacola, Fla. Work also will be done in Washington, D.C., California, Virginia, Hawaii, Maryland and Texas. … General Dynamics of Niceville, Fla., was among a host of companies awarded a ceiling $490 million contract for the Agile Acquisition program. Contractors will provide for pre-program activities, technology development activities, engineering and manufacturing activities, and production activities for development of new systems or modification of existing systems. The location of performance is Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Rapid Acquisition Cell, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. … Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems, Inc., Bethesda, Md., was awarded an $82.8 million contract for next generation technical services. Work will be performed at Stennis Space Center, Miss., Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; Vicksburg, Miss.; Lorton, Va.; and Bethesda with an estimated completion date of June 19, 2016. … Roy Anderson Corp., Gulfport, Miss., was awarded a $38.3 million contract for construction of the Bolden Elementary-Middle School at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., and is expected to be completed by June 2018.

Week in review (8/9 to 8/15)

A new rocket engine test, a new deputy director at a NASA facility and the introduction of the latest version of an F-35 helmet were among the items of interest during the week for the Gulf Coast aerospace corridor.

Here's your week in review:


Space
An RS-25 rocket engine had a 535-second test firing late in the week at NASA's South Mississippi rocket engine test facility. More than 1,200 people viewed the test at Stennis Space Center, according to a release by NASA.

One final test of this RS-25 developmental engine is planned in this series. Testing of the flight engines begins later this fall.

Four RS-25 engines along with boosters will power the first stage of NASA's Space Launch System, which will lift the Orion crew vehicle and astronauts on deep space missions in the future. The RS-25 is a modified version of the engines that powered the Space Shuttle. (Post)

If you are a regular reader of this column or the daily Gulf Coast news feed, you understand the significance of the SLS program for this region. The core stage and Orion capsule are fabricated in part at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. And the rocket engines are tested at SSC. It's a continuation of the roles the two facilities had since the start of the nation's space program in the 1960s.

Also at Stennis Space Center during the week, Randy Galloway was named deputy director, succeeding Jerry Cook, who will return to Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Galloway has served at several other NASA centers in key leadership roles.

In his previous position, Galloway was director of the Engineering and Test Directorate at SSC beginning in 2007. His successor there is John Bailey. Cook will serve in Huntsville as the Exploration Systems Development chief engineer and director of Cross-Program Systems Integration. (Post)


F-35
A new high-tech helmet for F-35 pilots is ready now. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, officials during the week commemorated the delivery of the first Gen III F-35 Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS).

Rockwell Collins, through its joint venture, Rockwell Collins ESA Vision Systems LLC, is providing the HMDS, which includes an improved night vision camera, improved liquid-crystal displays, automated alignment and software improvements is to be introduced to the fleet in low rate initial production Lot 7 in 2016.

The company also developed the Gen 2 helmet currently in use. Overall, Rockwell Collins has built and fit more than 200 helmets for F-35 pilots. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center and reprogramming lab. (Post)


Contracts
SA Technical Services Inc., Niceville, Fla., Advanced Concepts Enterprises Inc., Shalimar, Fla., and Streamline Defense LLC, Tampa, Fla., were awarded a combined $45 million multiple-award contract for Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command. The contractor will provide systems engineering and technical assistance services at multiple locations both in the U.S. and overseas, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 11, 2020. Air Force Installation Contracting Agency and 765 Special Contracting Flight, Hurlburt Field, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $26 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the F-22 sustainment system. Work will be performed at Fort Worth and is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2017. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity. F-22 pilots are trained at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

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

I usually avoid writing about subjects that are not aerospace-related. Afterall, people read this column because it focuses on aerospace issues of interest to the Gulf Coast region. But there was a story this week that shows you just what can be accomplished if you set your mind to it.

The story was by a reporter from the Washington Post, which has been following the training of two women who have made it to Ranger swamp training at Florida's Eglin Air Force Base. The reporter wrote about one of the instructors at the Ranger swamp school, Timothy Spayd.

Spayd at 53 is about twice the age of the other 6th Ranger Training Battalion instructors. He's a former active-duty Army sergeant who in 1980 graduated from Ranger School. He was adopted, so to speak, by the 6th RTB after the unit found that Spayd had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

A neurodegenerative disease, ALS attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, affecting voluntary muscle action. Eventually, it can leave people unable to speak or walk. Spayd, of Milton, and his wife, Karen, began wondering about his health years ago. He'd lost 26 pounds and had significant pain in his back and spine. A VA doctor finally gave him the diagnosis of ALS.

A friend and fellow Ranger School graduate reached out on Spayd's behalf to see if Ranger School would allow him to assist and visit, a "Make a Wish" sort of request, Spayd told the Post. Now that first visit has gone well beyond that. Spayd first walked with students at Eglin in 2013, and he's now been involved in the last 19 classes, spanning nearly two years. Spayd said being part of the Rangers gives him a sense of purpose.

To see the story, click here.

Now for your aerospace week in review:


Airbus
In Alabama, interior cabin specialists Vartan Product Support will open a 3,300-square-foot facility at the Mobile Aeroplex in October to provide on-site cabin interiors support to the Airbus U.S. Manufacturing Facility at the Aeroplex. Vartan also has operations in Charleston, S.C., and Seattle to support Boeing facilities and in Toulouse, France, and Tianjin, China, to support Airbus final assembly lines. (Post)


Bases
A special memorial service was held Friday at Hurlburt Field, Fla., for two airmen from the 24th Special Operations Wing who died during a training accident at Eglin Air Force Base earlier in the week.

Tech. Sgt. Timothy A. Officer, 32, and Tech. Sgt. Marty B. Bettelyoun, 35, died during the free-fall parachute training accident at Eglin’s Camp Rudder. They were assigned to the 720th Operations Support Squadron, part of the 24th SOW at Hurlburt.

Special tactics airmen are the Air Force’s ground special operations forces who often embed with Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces to integrate air power for the special operations ground force. (Post)

-- Ford employees are spending three week at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base to test vehicles in extreme cold. The lab, the largest facility of its kind, is being used to test the vehicles in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It was the size of the lab that appealed to Ford, which can put up to 72 vehicles in the lab. Ford has been coming to the lab for at least a decade. (Post)


Singapore
Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore's ambassador to the United States, was in the Gulf Coast region visiting sites of interest to his country. In Florida he visited Pensacola International Airport, where Singapore's VT MAE plans to build a $37 million maintenance, repair and overhaul facility. (Post)

The next day he was in Mobile, Ala., where VT MAE, owned by Singapore Technologies Engineering, has had an MRO since 1991. The company also owns shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, which has operations in Pascagoula, Miss.

The Gulf Coast Reporters' League just-released aerospace newsletter had a feature story about VT MAE and its growth in the region. The president of VT MAE, Bill Hafner, said he's "bullish" about the Gulf Coast I-10 aerospace region, which he sees as primed for growth. The expansion of VT MAE underscores that. The new operation in Pensacola will have 300 to 500 workers, and there's already talk about a "Phase II" that would double the company's footprint in Pensacola (Post)


Growth
There were other stories in the aerospace newsletter published early in the week about some growing operations. One of the stories was about the biggest company in aerospace, Boeing. The company about 100 years ago supplied planes for fledgling Navy fliers in Pensacola, and today its Northwest Florida operation is expanding its role of keeping U.S. warplanes the most up-to-date in the world. For 20 years now, Boeing has been a part of the Panhandle’s Fort Walton Beach. And its footprint in Fort Walton Beach has grown with the opening of a second building. (Post)

Boeing is not the only company growing. Over in Kiln, Miss., a company that works on large, loud, multi-engine military aircraft has found it helpful to be in a location where engines can be run at any time day or night. That's precisely what Selex Galileo can do at its two-hangar South Mississippi operation located within the massive acoustical buffer zone of NASA’s Stennis Space Center. (Post)

Speaking of growth, that's also in the cards at Mobile Aeroplex. Just ask Phil Gurvitz. He doesn't hedge when asked why France's AKKA Technologies decided to set up shop not far from where Airbus will assemble U.S.-built jetliners. While AKKA’s initial staffing will be small, Gurvitz sees a bright future for aerospace engineering at the Mobile Aeroplex, which he sees as being in the “perfect position” for growth. (Post)


F-35
An Italian KC-767A tanker refueled an F-35A for the first time in a test in California. The milestone comes as Italy prepares to flight test its first domestically-assembled F-35A, which rolled off the Cameri assembly line in March. It will eventually be flown to the United States to support pilot training at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. The F-35 refueling was July 29 over Edwards Air Force Base.

Italy will eventually share an F-35 reprogramming lab at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., with Norway. Eglin is home to the F-35 integrated training center and F-35 reprogramming lab. Groundbreaking for the lab will be next year. (Post)

-- Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $431.2 million modification to the previously awarded Lot IX F-35 advance acquisition contract for the procurement of production non-recurring items, like special tooling and test equipment.

The work will be done in Texas, California, New Hampshire, the United Kingdom, Florida, Georgia, Italy, Minnesota, New York, Maryland, Illinois, Denmark, the Netherlands and Utah and is expected to be completed in December 2018. This modification combines purchase for the Air Force, Navy, Marines, non-U.S. Department of Defense participants and foreign military sales customers. (Post)

Week in review (7/26 to 8/1)

It's been a long time coming, but the Marine Corps variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has achieved Initial Operational Capability. The 10 F-35B Lightning II fighters of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., can now be deployed anywhere in the world. (Post)

The B variant can take off from short runways and land vertically, and gaining IOC is a milestone in the evolution of the controversial fighter, which has taken longer to develop and at a higher cost than initially expected.

The Air Force version of the fighter is the F-35A and the carrier-capable Navy variant is the F-35C. The A model is a conventional take-off and landing model that will go operational in the fall of 2016. The C model, which has a tailhook and will be used both by the Navy and Marines, is scheduled to go operational in 2018.

The Marines plan on buying 340 B and 80 C models. The first F-35B deployment is scheduled to take place in 2017, with VMFA-121 moving to Iwakuni, Japan. The jets are operational but not in heir final form. More capability, including the use of the plane's gun, will come down the line.

The decision to declare the F-35B’s IOC was made following an Operational Readiness Inspection that assessed the Marine Corps' ability to employ the high-tech weapon system in an operational environment.

The topic of the F-35 is closely followed by folks in this region. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center and F-35 reprogramming lab.

-- In another F-35 item, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $37.5 million contract modification for a delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement. The modification authorizes engineering change proposals for air vehicle retrofit modifications to be incorporated into designated aircraft and supporting subsystems in support of the F-35 aircraft Block 3F requirements.

This modification also includes retrofit modification kits, installation, and labor to incorporate the modification kits. Work will be performed in Texas, Georgia and California and is expected to be completed in August 2018. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Post)


Economic development
OK, I avoided putting the headline "Mobile gets REEL," but that would have been valid. The REEL Group of France is establishing its first U.S. facility with 4,500-square-feet of office, warehouse, and workshop space at Mobile Aeroplex, which is also the site where Airbus will build A320  jetliners.

The announcement is in direct response to REEL Service Division being awarded the jigs and tools maintenance service provider contract for the Airbus A320 plant. The newly formed subsidiary, REEL USA Corp., is expected to create more than 20 full-time positions. The lease allows for expansion. (Post)

-- On another front, two sites in Baldwin County were awarded designation as Alabama AdvantageSites. The 39.5-acre Segers Aerospace Site, originally part of the Fairhope Industrial Park but now owned by Aviation Industrial Group Inc., became Baldwin County’s seventh Advantage site when it was given the designation early in the week. (Post)

Then later in the week, the 78.6-acre Gulf Shores Business and Aviation Park, adjacent to the Jack Edwards National Airport, became the county’s eighth AdvantageSite. The site is owned by the Gulf Sores Airport Authority. The AdvantageSite program, coordinated by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, is sponsored by the Alabama Department of Commerce, Alabama Gas Corp., Alabama Power Co., the North Alabama Industrial Development Association and PowerSouth Energy Cooperative. (Post)


Aircraft
A NASA-owned C-130 is almost halfway through some modification work being done at South Alabama Regional Airport in Andalusia, Ala. The Kearns Group of Daleville and Pinnacle Solutions of Huntsville are doing electrical and structural work on the plane, which got to the airport in June.

It's being modified for NASA’s Atmospheric Carbon and Transport-America mission, which will measure atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane over the central and eastern U.S. during all four seasons. (Post)

-- While on the subject of aircraft, the new AC-130J "Ghostrider" gunship arrived during the week at Hurlburt Field, Fla., home of Air Force Special Operations Command. The plane, a heavily modified Lockheed Martin C-130, combines the firepower capabilities of the AC-130W and AC-130U gunships. The gunships are most notable for circling a target and firing down with pinpoint accuracy.

This particular aircraft spent the last few months at nearby Eglin Air Force Base where it went through an array of tests. Four pilots assigned to the new 2nd Detachment of the 1st Special Operations Group will put the aircraft through operational testing. A second Ghostrider is currently undergoing testing at Eglin. (Post)


Contracts
L-3 Communications Corp., Madison, Miss., was awarded a $274.6 million contract modification for continued contractor logistic support for about 235 government aircraft (40 RC-12s, 167 C-12s, 28 UC-35s). Work will be performed in Madison with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2016. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting authority. … General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Aerospace, Bothell, Wash., was awarded a $7.2 million contract for heated and mobile munitions employing rockets. Work will be performed at Orlando, Fla., and is expected to be complete by April 29, 2016. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Week in review (7/19 to 7/25)

Gunship conversion work, a forecast about the growing need for aircraft maintenance technicians, the departure of the last QF-4 from Tyndall, and the establishment of a machinist union office in Mobile were among the stories of interest to the Gulf Coast I-10 region during the week.

Here's your week in review:

Economic development
Lockheed Martin will perform a series of modifications to an MC-130J to convert it to an AC-130J. The work, which will cost around $20 million, will be done at Bob Sikes Airport near Crestview. Right now, two aircraft are scheduled to be converted, but the Air Force Special Operations Command plans to modify 33 of in the coming years.

The AC-130J is designed to provide close air support for ground troops and air interdiction roles such as strike coordination and reconnaissance. It’s being developed to replace the AC-130H, AC-130U and AC-130W gunships. (Post)

While on the subject of Lockheed Martin, that company is buying Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies for $9 billion. Lockheed Martin, already the largest military contractor, builds the F-35 and other military aircraft. This will also give the company the Black Hawk helicopter. It's Lockheed Martin's largest acquisition since it bought Martin Marietta Corp two decades ago. (Post).

All three companies have operations in the Gulf Coast region. Lockheed Martin has space-related activities at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and Stennis Space Center, Miss. It also has an operation in Fort Walton Beach that works, among other things, with the F-35. United Technologies has an operation in Foley, Ala., and Sikorsky has been involved in aircraft maintenance activities in Milton and Pensacola, Fla.


Workers
Boeing released a new forecast showing continued strong demand for commercial airline pilots and maintenance technicians as the world's airlines add 38,000 airplanes to the global fleet over the next 20 years. Boeing's 2015 Pilot and Technician Outlook projects that between 2015 and 2034 the world will require 558,000 new commercial airline pilots and 609,000 new commercial airline maintenance technicians. (Post)

Speaking of workers, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has opened an organizing office in Mobile for Airbus workers interested in forming a union at the company's assembly line.

The office will be staffed by full-time IAM organizers and supported by community allies and volunteers from IAM and AFL-CIO-affiliated unions in the Mobile and Gulf Coast area.

The $600 million A320 assembly line will employ about 1,000 workers and produce four to five passenger jets each month when in fully operational. The first plane, an A321, will be delivered to JetBlue in 2016. (Post)


Bases
The last QF-4 from the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron left Florida's Tyndall Air Force Base Friday. It's now at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., where it will remain for its final missions. The F-4 originally was used as a fighter during the Vietnam War, but it began serving Tyndall as a QF-4 aerial target in 1997. The departure of the QF-4 marks the full transition for the 82nd ATS to the QF-16, which, like the QF-4, can be flown manned or unmanned. (Post)

-- In Okaloosa County, county commissioners agreed to ask the Air Force to grant the county ownership of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport property, which is located within Eglin Air Force Base. The county said it can no longer afford the $400,000 lease payment it makes to Eglin each year and still hold on to its three major airline carriers, United, American and Delta.

County Airports Director Sunil Harman said owning the airport land would allow the county to develop new streams of revenue such as hotels, gas stations and convenience stores. (Story)

-- Navy Cmdr. Abaxes Williams, a pilot with the Navy Reserve’s Strike Fighter Squadron 204, was awarded the Air Medal earlier this month for an incident that occurred last year over the Gulf of Mexico. He was flying an F/A-18s out of Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base when it was hit by lightning at 23,000 feet. He struggled for 25 minutes to wear off the effect and control the fighter until he could return to the Belle Chasse base. (Post)


Contract
PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Marlton, N.J., was awarded an $115.9 million contract for aerial targets operations and maintenance services. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2022. Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (7/12 to 7/18)

The expansion of Fort Walton Machining, progress in getting an MRO in Pensacola, another test of the RS-25 rocket engine and contracts for the F-35 were among the stories of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace region during the week.

Here's your week in review:


Economic development
Fort Walton Machining is expanding, a move that will mean 30 new positions and more than $1.5 million in new manufacturing equipment. It was the first company to apply for the city of Fort Walton Beach's Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption, an incentive for new and expanding businesses approved by voters in August. Greg Britton, CEO of Fort Walton Machining, said the equipment will give the Northwest Florida company greater capabilities in aerospace manufacturing. (Post)

Meanwhile, over in Pensacola, Fla., the project to bring an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility to Pensacola International Airport is inching ahead. An $8 million contract was awarded during the week to Phoenix Construction Services to expand the cargo apron. The apron is needed as part of the VT MAE project.

Another contract for $2.5 million was awarded to Atkins North America for architectural and engineering design for the VT MAE maintenance, repair and overhaul facility. Local company Greenhut Construction was awarded construction manager privileges when it comes time to build the facility, slated for January 2016.

VT MAE, which has a 1,000-employee MRO operation in Mobile, Ala., chose Pensacola for an expansion project. The two-hangar facility will employ some 300 workers when it opens. (Post)


Space
A Space Launch System RS-25 engine had a 535-second test Friday at NASA's Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi. During the test, operators ran the engine through a series of power levels, including firing at 109 percent of the engine's rated power.

Data collected at various power levels will aid in adapting the former space shuttle engines to the new SLS vehicle, including development of an all-new engine controller and software. Four RS-25s will power the SLS core stage. (Post)

The Gulf Coast is heavily involved in NASA's SLS program. In addition to engines being tested at Stennis Space Center, the core stage is being built by Boeing at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. That's also where Lockheed Martin does work on the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.


Weapons
Lockheed Martin demonstrated its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM), engaging two laser-designated stationary targets during recent tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. In the first test, the missile flew four kilometers, engaged its precision-strike, semi-active laser and hit the stationary target. During the second flight, the missile flew four kilometers, acquired the target using its precision strike, semi-active laser while simultaneously tracking the target with its millimeter wave radar, and hit the stationary target. (Post)


Bases
The 177th Combined Arms Training Brigade had a change of command ceremony during the week at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center parade field. Col. William Chlebowski relinquished command to Col. Brandon Robbins during the ceremony. Robbins previously served as operations officer for the U.S. Army 101st Air Assault Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. Chlebowski has commanded the 177th CATB since July 2013. Camp Shelby, Miss., is the nation's largest state-owned training site. (Post)

-- At Fort Rucker, Ala., Shannon Miller became the garrison commander in a change of command ceremony earlier this month. Miller now has responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day operations at the base in South Alabama. She replaced Col. Stuart McRae, who becomes deputy of the Installation Management Command Pacific Region at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Fort Rucker, near Dothan, is the home of Army aviation training. (Post)

Also at Fort Rucker, the base will lose 186 soldiers and an unspecified number of civilians by Sept. 30, 2018 due to an Army-wide reduction of 40,000 soldiers and 17,000 civilians. The Aviation Center of Excellence itself is expected to lose about 68 percent of the 186 soldiers, according to a Fort Rucker news release. (Post)


F-35
Lockheed Martin of Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded two contracts during the week in connection with the F-35. The contracting activity in both cases is the Naval Air Systems Comand, Patuxent River, Md.

In one contract, the company was awarded a $718.3 million modification to a previously awarded contract for non-air vehicle spares, support equipment, Autonomic Logistics Information System hardware and software upgrades, supply chain management, full mission simulators and non-recurring engineering services in support of low-rate initial production Lot 8 F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, international partner, and foreign military sales customers.

Work will be done in Orlando, Fla. (70 percent); Fort Worth (17 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (7 percent); Owego, N.Y. (4 percent); Greenville, S.C. (1 percent); and Samlesbury, U.K. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2020. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force (12 percent); Navy (5 percent); Marine Corps (16 percent); international partners (39 percent); and FMS customers (28 percent). (Post)

In the second contract, Lockheed was awarded a $101.3 million modification to the previously awarded Lot IX F-35 advance acquisition contract for the procurement of helmet mounted display systems for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, international partners and the governments of Japan and Israel under the Foreign Military Sales program. Yhe HMDS is a helmet display system that provides the pilot with aircraft/mission data on the visor display. Data consists of flight, navigation, and weapons symbology and video from onboard sensors.

Work will be done in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (65 percent) and Fort Worth (35 percent) and is expected to be completed in June 2018. This modification combines purchase for the Air Force (46.5 percent); Marine Corps (22.4 percent); Navy (14.9 percent); international partners (12 percent); and the governments of Japan (0.45 percent) and Israel (3.75 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. (Post)


Contract
Onvoi LLC, Newbury Park, Calif., was awarded a $9.2 million contract for training flight services in support of the Air Force Undergraduate Air Battle Manager Training Course. Training services will include ground-controlled intercept target training, basic airmanship training, live-fire training, weapons system evaluations, and major command-directed development test and evaluations. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2019. The 325th Contracting Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. (Post)

Week in review (7/5 to 7/11)

When the Blue Angels perform before the hometown crowd in Pensacola, Fla., you can guarantee there will be a lot of stories on television, in the newspaper and online. But I don't think I've seen any of them mention that there once was a television series about the team.

It was back in 1960 and filmed in black and white, and like most shows during that time was only a half hour. It ran for one season, but I do remember watching it. I couldn't swear to it since my memory is a bit foggy, but I probably had a model of a Blue Angels plane.

You can still see one of the shows on YouTube. This particular episode shows the team, which was flying F9F-2 Panther jets during that era, being assigned to the carrier USS Princeton during the Korean War. The team, in fact, was disbanded and the pilots sent into combat for a time, so this episode is based on something that really happened to the team.

Back to today, the team performed at Pensacola Beach over the weekend, one of two shows during the season that's before the hometown crowd. The second show is at the end of the season and done at Naval Air Station Pensacola. In addition to the show, the team during the week announced the officers selected for the 2016 team, the team's 70th anniversary. (Post)

By the way, the Blue Angels television series wasn't the only show that highlighted Pensacola-based Navy pilots. Beginning in 1997 there was a television series called "Pensacola: Wings of Gold" that ran for three seasons. Despite the name, it was all filmed in California, obvious from the sight of mountains in the background.

But while I'm on the subject of the Navy and Pensacola, Naval Air Station Pensacola was among the winners of the 2015 Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence. The award recognizes outstanding and innovative efforts to operate and maintain U.S. military installations.

Other bases that won were the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Joint Base Andrews, Md.; and DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pa. (Post)


Airbus
Airbus completed its first flight of an electric plane across the English Channel on Friday. The plane was a two-seat E-Fan demonstrator, powered by lithium batteries. It took 36 minutes to fly from Lydd in southern England to Calais, France.

Airbus subsidiary VoltAir SAS plans to have two-seat E-Fan 2.0 planes flying in 2017. Construction of a new factory in Pau in southwest France begins in 2016. A four-seat hybrid model with a range extender powered by traditional fuel will follow in 2019. (Post).

Maybe Airbus will decide to make these for the U.S. market in Mobile, Ala., where it has an A320 assembly line. After all, it does have room to expand. Just saying.


Airport
Pensacola International Airport and OHM Concessions Group during the week held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the airport's renovated and expanded food and beverage concession areas. The city's contract with OHM is expected to generate more than $1 million over ten years in additional non-airline revenue for airport. (Post)