Week in review (2/18 to 2/24)

Passenger area of CSeries.
GCAC photo

Airbus and Bombardier early in the week invited the media to take a look at a CSeries jetliner like the ones that are likely to be built at the Mobile Aeroplex under an agreement between the two plane makers.

The transaction, where Airbus gets a stake in the Bombardier CSeries jetliners, is not yet finalized, but is expected by the second half of this year. So what will all this mean for Mobile? As was reported back in November, the Bombardier investment will be close to $300 million and will create 400 to 500 jobs.

But at the event itself officials said the number of jobs at the Aeroplex will increase to as many as 600. That’s because there’s a good chance Airbus will hike its A320 series jetliner output to six a month from the current four.

The CSeries would be built in a separate hangar to the north and parallel to the hangar where Airbus is building A320 series jetliners. The plans is to eventually build four CSeries jetliners per month on the separate final assembly line.

Like the Airbus operation, major sections will be shipped to Mobile from other locations. The engines are built by Pratt & Whitney, and the podding work may be done at the UTC facility across the bay in Foley, where all the A320 podding work is done.

While a lot of details are still being worked out, Bombardier will use the Airbus delivery center, which will be expanded to accommodate the additional deliveries.

The twin-engine, single-aisle CSeries passenger jet is smaller than the A320. It has three seats on one side of the aisle and two on the other. (Post)

Building the CSeries in Mobile as well as Quebec will allow Bombardier to meet demand, and will mean jobs for years to come. There will be a demand for 6,000 of the CSeries jetliners over the next 20 years, according to Alain Bellemare, president and CEO of Bombardier, who was in Mobile for the event. He also pointed out that more than 50 percent of the plane's content is U.S.-produced.

Officials also said they expect more suppliers might now commit to setting up an operation in Mobile or the surrounding region with the arrival of Bombardier.

Meanwhile, over at Stennis Space Center, Miss., later in the week, Aerojet Rocketdyne and NASA powered up the RS-25 main engine for the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) to its highest thrust levels yet. It was a 260-second test on the A-1 Test Stand. The RS-25 engine throttled up to 113 percent of its original design thrust level.

The first four flights of SLS will use engines that max out at 109 percent of rated thrust. The engines operated at 104.5 percent rated thrust when they helped power the Space Shuttle into space. New RS-25 engines will baseline their thrust at 111 percent.

The latest RS-25 hot fire test also was the fourth involving an additively manufactured Pogo Accumulator Assembly, the largest 3-D printed RS-25 component tested to date. Newly manufactured RS-25 engines, to be used starting with the fifth SLS mission, will incorporate the additively manufactured Pogo Accumulator Assembly and other 3-D printed parts currently in development.

There are 16 flight engines that will power the first four SLS flights in inventory at Aerojet Rocketdyne's Stennis facility. (Post)

Week in review (2/11 to 2/17)

I had the chance early this week to go to Stennis Space Center, Miss., to participate in a briefing and tour for social media and traditional media folks. I’m actually both, as those of us from the traditional media tend to be today.

I've been to Stennis Space Center (SSC) many times in the past, including visiting the towering stands where rocket engines are tested. But you always see something new, and besides, it's a great refresher for a space buff. I wrote about the test stands in the just-released Gulf Coast Reporters League Aerospace Newsletter. It's on pages 7 and 8.

But the daily post I wrote after the visit was an update on the plans to create a "near-site" research and technology park at SSC. I asked about it during a question-and-answer session with Randy Galloway, deputy director of the NASA rocket engine test facility.

He recapped for everyone else just what I was talking about when I asked about the interest in Enterprise Park. He pointed out that in December NASA opened a search for a non-federal partner to lead in development of the 1,100-acre technology corridor in the first phase of a multi-phase project.

Galloway said it was discussed with interested parties during a Feb. 7 Industry Day event. He said there was a "good bit of interest" in the proposed project in the northwest corner of the "fee area," the name for the area at SSC with all the buildings and test stands. He said at least 16 entities and 58 individuals expressed interest. The park would be allied to the mission at SSC, whether it's the mission of NASA or any of the other more than 40 tenants.

Enterprise Park would be for companies that want to work with NASA or other SSC tenants but who don't want to go through the security measures required to enter SSC, and by the same token don't want to be six or seven miles away. The 1,100 acres, identified as the most development-ready, is on the northern edge of the 13,800-acre secured area and would include property both inside and outside the security perimeter.

It was an important enough development that the deputy director of the Mississippi Development Authority attended the Industry Day to learn more. Galloway said some very good companies have expressed interest. The park would be leased to the developer, who would provide all the financing.

So why is this important? Galloway told me later that the obvious answer is economic development, benefiting not only Mississippi but the entire region.

"There are a lot of new companies involved in space," he pointed out about the tremendous growth of commercial space activities. At SSC, which has a huge 125,000-acre buffer zone around the fee area, they can make a lot of noise and not bother anybody. As somebody who once lived in Huntsville, I asked if he sees any parallels between Enterprise Park and Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, the nation’s second largest.

"I would hope that in 10 years we see just a fraction of what Cummings Research Park is today," he said, pointing out that Huntsville is a much bigger entity with a much larger budget authority, including the Army Materiel Command, the primary provider of materiel to the Army. Its mission includes research and development of weapons systems as well as maintenance and parts distribution. "When you have that much budget authority, you get a lot of interest. I don’t know that we'll ever be to that point, but I believe we can have something that's dynamic and appealing and a good source of long-term jobs for this community.”

I couldn't agree more. This is significant for our region.

Bombardier

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said during the week that it will proceed with plans to buy some Canadian-made CSeries jets from Bombardier this year after a U.S. trade ruling stopped the United States from imposing steep duties on the aircraft. It will take delivers this year of some of the 75 CSeries jets it ordered in 2016.

Those first jetliners will be made in Quebec. But not all of them will be produced in Canada. Production is set to begin for U.S. customers at an Airbus plant in Mobile, Ala., after the Airbus closes a deal this year to acquire a majority stake in the CSeries program.

"Delta still intends to take as many deliveries as possible from the new Airbus/Bombardier facility in Mobile, Ala., as soon as that facility is up and running," the carrier said.

During the week the International Trade Commission said it rejected the hefty U.S. duties on the CSeries jets earlier this month in part because Boeing had lost no sales or revenue during the Delta deal. (Post)

Newsletter

The February issue of the Gulf Coast Reporters League/Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Newsletter is now available. The four-page cover story is about Alabama's considerable aerospace footprint, from Huntsville to Mobile and places in between.

Inside there's a story about a lecture in Pensacola, Fla., that focused on concerns that intelligent systems may one day be a threat to humanity. And as I mentioned earlier in this column, there's also an article about an historic test stand at SSC that next year will test the core stage of NASA's Space Launch System, which will eventually return astronauts to deep space. (Post)

Contracts

Micro Systems Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded an $81 million contract to acquire and/or repair essential part-numbered components to support the operation and maintenance of all versions of the Army Ground Aerial Target Control System, target interface control units, and associated ancillary equipment. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. … Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded $14 million modification to a previously issued delivery order placed against a basic ordering agreement. This modification provides for the procurement of initial air vehicle spares to include endurance spares packages to coincide with F-35 air vehicle deliveries in support of the government of Israel. 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. … ASES LLC, doing business as Field Aerospace, Oklahoma City, Okla., was awarded an $18.5 million contract for the T-1A Avionics Modification program. This contract provides for the replacement of the avionics suite in the T-1A fleet of 178 aircraft, 16 operational flight trainers, and 14 part task trainers. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City; Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.; Vance Air Force Base, Okla.; Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas; and Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.. Work is expected to be complete by Aug. 14, 2025. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (2/4 to 2/10)

The February issue of the bimonthly Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Newsletter will be published Wednesday. The cover story is the third installment of the series about the aerospace activities of the four states that are members of the Aerospace Alliance.

The upcoming issue puts a spotlight on Alabama, which has a large, diverse and growing aerospace sector. In fact, aerospace is the second fastest-growing sector in the state in terms of project activity. As you would expect, we'll tell you about Huntsville-Decatur, long a powerhouse in space, and Mobile, which seems destined to grow its aircraft manufacturing operations.

But you'll also learn more about the places in between, from Fort Rucker’s Army aviation center in Southeast Alabama to Tuskegee, where they'll build T-100 jet trainers if the Air Force picks Leonardo for the contract.

There's also an article about artificial intelligence and the fear that intelligent robots might be our greatest danger. That was the subject of a lecture in Pensacola at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, which pointed out the parallels between the current fear over AI and past concerns about humans flying.

We'll also tell you about a second lecture a little more than a week later at IHMC about future technology and some of the products that we can expect – the prototypes already exist. I particularly liked the windows that double as lights, and bendable computing devices.

We also have a rundown of some of the key aviation events that occurred in the Gulf Coast region since the last newsletter in December. If you're a subscriber, the eight-page PDF will be delivered to your inbox. Not a subscriber? You will be able to grab the PDF at our website.

Now for your week in review:

Space
OK, even if you're not a space buff, you have to admit that the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Cape Canaveral, Fla., was pretty awesome. And the images that were beamed back showing a Tesla Roadster in space – with Earth in the background and a dummy in the driver's seat – was like nothing you've ever seen before – at least not something that was real.

I'll admit, I was skeptical when the Obama administration started shifting money to commercial companies so they could handle routine flights to the International Space Station while NASA focused on extending our reach to deep space. But I've slowly but surely become a believer. The vision has gone well beyond routine as private companies push into space tourism and establishing colonies on distant planets.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is the most powerful commercial rocket in the world. What is truly remarkable is that once again, SpaceX got its boosters back. Two of the three boosters made vertical landings back at Kennedy Space Center, while the third one scheduled to land on a drone ship off the coast of Florida hit the ocean about 100 yards from the ship. While the Tesla was visually stunning, it's the return of the boosters that's the real achievement here. SpaceX has done it in the past, but this time two of them came down nearly simultaneously. That capability promises to make space travel quite a bit less expensive.

The 23-story rocket was built with three of the company's Falcon 9 rockets, a total of 27 Merlin engines, created a combined 5 million pounds of thrust. Falcon Heavy is more powerful and can lift more weight than the biggest rockets offered by either United Launch Alliance or Arianespace.

A recent report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecast the size of the space industry over the next three decades will reach at least $2.7 trillion. All of this is good for our region. SpaceX is using Stennis Space Center, Miss., to develop its next generation Raptor engines, and other companies are also testing their rocket engines at SSC. (Post)

Airbus

Airbus and its suppliers continue to grab our attention.

UTC Aerospace Systems recently delivered the first of two fully integrated propulsion systems for the Airbus 320neo to the Airbus final assembly line in Mobile, Ala. The newly expanded UTC facility in Foley, Ala., integrated the full nacelle system, designed and built by UTC Aerospace Systems, with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM Geared Turbofan engine (GTF).

In 2011, Airbus selected UTC Aerospace Systems to design, manufacture and support the full nacelle system for the A320neo GTF engines for the life of the program. In support of the Airbus A320neo program, UTC Aerospace System elected to expand the Foley campus to meet customer demand. The 80,000 square foot expansion began operations in late 2017. (Post)

In another Airbus-related story, officials from Dublin-based MAAS Aviation and the Atlanta-based consul general of Ireland were in Mobile late in the week. As you know, MAAS Aviation in Mobile paints all the jetliners produced by Airbus.

The consul, Shane Stephens, was with a delegation of European representatives to visit the Gulf Coast to celebrate European investments in this part of the world. MAAS, in addition to the shop that paints the Airbus planes, later built another paint facility for after-market customers. Just a year after breaking ground, it’s repainted some 40 planes. MAAS officials say they’re excited about the growth potential of the Mobile area. (Post)

Bases

The Air Force has grounded some training flights at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., because of hypoxia-related issues experienced by pilots at other bases flying T-6 Texan II A aircraft.

The Pensacola News Journal reports that Randy Martin, a spokesman for the San Antonio-based 12th Flying Squadron, said the Air Force has 22 of the planes at NAS Pensacola. The planes are used to train combat systems officers as part of its 479th Fighter Group at the Navy base.

Earlier this month the Air Force grounded its entire fleet of T-6 Texan II A planes after pilots experienced hypoxia due to lack of oxygen in flight. Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., flies a different version of the T-6 Texan II. (Post)

-- The Florida Department if Environmental Protection announced Friday that 2,607 gallons of Jet-A fuel spilled at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The spill occurred in Building 92 on Jan. 5 after a switch box froze, activating fuel pumps and overfilling an underground storage tank. Absorbents were put in place to soak up the fuel and the Emergency Response Contractor cleaned the area. (Post)

-- Speaking of the environment, Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., was the winner in the medium-sized shore command category of the 2017 Navy Community Service Environmental Stewardship Flagship awards.

The awards program highlights commands and ships that exhibit strong commitment to environmental stewardship via volunteer service projects. Naval Air Technical Training Center Pensacola, Fla., was an honorable mention in the large shore command category. (Post)

Personnel

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirkland Air Force Base, N.M., announced its annual award winners Jan. 25. Winners will compete at the next level for Air Force Materiel Command’s annual awards.

AFNWC 2017 annual award winners included Field Grade Officer of the Year, Maj. Kenton Feldman and Category IV Civilian of the Year, Wesley Treadway, both of the Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The center is responsible for synchronizing all aspects of nuclear materiel management on behalf of the AF’s materiel command in direct support of the AF Global Strike Command. Headquartered at Kirtland, the center has some 1,100 personnel assigned to 17 locations worldwide, including Eglin. (Post)

-- Col. Michael E. Martin of the 24th Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla., who was selected earlier this week for the grade of brigadier general, is being assigned as director, Integrated Resilience Office, Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. The announcement was made by the office of the Air Force chief of staff. (Post)

-- Air Force Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Becklund has been nominated for appointment to the rank of major general. Becklund is currently serving as the special assistant to the commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla. (Post)

Contracts

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $119.7 million modification to a previously issued delivery order placed against a basic ordering agreement. This modification provides for the procurement of initial air vehicle deployment spares packages in support of Air Force F-35 air vehicle delivery schedules. work is expected to be completed in July 2022. 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. … The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $21 million contract for the procurement of GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrators. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (1/28 to 2/3)

Leave it to folks who don't live in this region to think they know what's best for us. I'm talking about the legislation to move Northwest Florida into the Eastern Time Zone, and shift us to permanent Daylight Saving Time.

The people who are backing this apparently don't fully understand the impact. Under the "Sunshine Protection Act," Pensacola will be an hour ahead of nearby Mobile during Daylight Savings Time, and two hours ahead during Daylight Standard Time.

The region covered by the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor is all on Central Time. When it's 11 a.m. in Panama City, Fla., it's the same time in New Orleans. When I cross the Alabama-Florida state line heading west on work-related travel, I'm always in the same time zone. If I head east along Interstate 10, I don't change time zones until crossing the Apalachicola River, and that's outside the aerospace corridor area of interest.

All of us who live here are quite familiar with being in a different time zone than Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami. And there's a lot of logic in keeping all the northern Gulf Coast in the same time zone. Fortunately, Northwest Florida senators opposed the plan. Like so many other ideas to make things "better," this needs to be beaten down.

Now here's your week in review:

Space

OK, space buffs, here are a couple of items you’ll like.

Construction has officially begun on the spaceship that will achieve America's goal of returning astronauts to the Moon and beyond. Lockheed Martin technicians and engineers at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in East New Orleans have welded together the first two components of the Orion crew module capsule for Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2). The EM-2 mission will be its first flight with astronauts on board.

This flight will be launched atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. EM-1, which will be used for an unscrewed mission, was assembled at Michoud and final assembly is being done in Florida.

The EM-2 capsule is 30 percent lighter and has 80 percent fewer parts. The main structure of the crew module, or pressure vessel, is comprised of seven large machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together to produce a strong, light-weight, air-tight capsule.

The first weld joined the forward bulkhead with the tunnel section to create the top of the spacecraft. The pressure vessel capsule will continue to be built out over the spring and summer in Michoud incorporating the three cone panels, the large barrel and the aft bulkhead.

Once completed in September, it will be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center where the Lockheed Martin team will perform assembly and test of the EM-2 spacecraft. (Post)

Meanwhile, over at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, NASA followed up the first RS-25 test of 2018 with a second hot fire of the Space Launch System (SLS) engine late in the week. The full-duration, 365-second certification test of another RS-25 engine flight controller on the A-1 Test Stand at comes about two weeks after a Jan. 16 hot fire.

The test marks completion of green run testing for all four of the new RS-25 engine flight controllers needed for the second flight of NASA’s SLS rocket. NASA is building SLS to send humans to such deep-space missions. Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) will test the new rocket and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft into space beyond the moon. EM-2 will be the first flight to carry humans aboard the Orion spacecraft, returning astronauts to deep space for the first time in more than 40 years. RS-25 controllers for the EM-1 flight already are installed on the engines that will be part of the SLS core stage. (Post)

Remote sensing

WMR-532, a joint venture of Woolpert and Optimal GEO, recently hosted a training session on the Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar program for Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) personnel. This session, which took place over five days at Stennis International Airport, was supported by the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetric Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX), Teledyne Optech and the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission.

WMR-532 is providing operations and maintenance of airborne coastal mapping and charting sensors in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and NAVOCEANO worldwide, as well as technical support to JALBTCX. The Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar program is designed to develop and evaluate a sensor for mapping and charting the coastal zone to improve performance and data products. (Post)

Airbus
The newest Airbus aircraft, the A321LR, completed its maiden flight in Europe during the week. The flight was two hours and 36 minutes. Thanks to new CFM LEAP-1A engines and a third fuel tank option, it can fly more than 4,300 miles non-stop, which opens up new transatlantic routes using the popular single-aisle jetliner.

The A321LR (Long Range), which can accommodate up to 240 passengers, now undergoes a nearly 100-hour flight test program and is expected to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2018. The Airbus plant in Mobile, Ala., will be producing the LR variant starting in 2019, according to Kristi Tucker, spokeswoman for the Mobile plant. (Post)

Contracts

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded $148 million modification to a previously awarded contract. This modification provides for the procurement of Israel-unique weapons certification, modification kits, and electronic warfare analysis in support of the F-35 Lightning II Israel system design and development to provide 3F+ fleet capability for the government of Israel under the Foreign Military Sales program. 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. … BAE Systems, Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Nashua, N.H., was awarded a $13.1 million contract for the phase 2 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Seeker Cost Transformation program. The contract seeks to demonstrate that a high performance seeker can be used in precision guided munitions and accurately guided to a target by a low cost, modular open-architecture, low size, weight, power and cost seeker. Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Missiles Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $105.2 million modification to previously awarded contract for Griffin missiles. The contracting activity is the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Week in review (1/21 to 1/27)

The week ended on an upbeat note for plane-maker Bombardier.

A U.S. trade commission handed a victory to the Canadian company, ruling that Bombardier can sell its newest jets to U.S. airlines without heavy duties. The vote by the U.S. International Trade Commission was 4-0 that Bombardier’s prices did not harm Boeing. That decision discards a U.S. Commerce Department recommendation to slap a near 300 percent duty on sales of the company's CSeries jets.

Chicago-based Boeing claimed it was forced to discount its 737 narrow-bodies to compete with Bombardier, which it said used government subsidies to dump the CSeries during the 2016 sale of 75 jets to Delta Air Lines. Bombardier called the trade case self-serving after Boeing revealed last month that it was discussing a "potential combination" with Brazil’s Embraer, which also builds smaller passenger jets.

Plans continue to move forward on a venture with Europe's Airbus, in which Airbus would take a majority stake in the CSeries and assemble them in Mobile, Ala. Those planes would be sold to U.S. carriers. (Post)

Before the ITC decision, Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., wrote to the head of the trade commission to express support for Bombardier. Byrne wrote that a decision favoring Boeing would take work away from U.S. suppliers and quash thousands of U.S. jobs. Byrne represents the district that includes Mobile. (Post)

Military

Florida Gov. Rick Scott stopped by Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Fla., during the week to congratulate everyone who helped get Tyndall Air Force Base selected as the preferred site for the MQ-9 Reaper wing.

Scott was one of many people who attended a ceremony at the school’s Advanced Technology Center. An environmental analysis, which could take nine months to two years, still has to be completed before it’s a done deal.

Airmen could arrive in 2020, with aircraft following in 2022. The wing is expected to increase Tyndall's workforce by more than 30 percent. (Post)

-- Some 400 prime contractors, subcontractors, military officials, contracting officers, and defense agencies are expected to attend the two-day 2018 Air Force Contracting Summit beginning Jan. 29 at the Sandestin Beach Golf Resort at Miramar Beach, Fla.

During the summit, speakers and attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the mission and contracting priorities of the U.S. Air Force, address contracting procedures for small businesses, identify federal contracting resources and connect prime contractors with new subcontractors. (Post)

-- Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., along with naval installations across the country will participate in Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield 2018 Jan. 29 – Feb. 9. The exercise is designed to enhance the readiness of Navy security forces and ensure seamless interoperability among the commands, other services and agency partners.

Measures have been taken to minimize disruptions within local communities and to normal base operations, but there may be times when the exercise causes increased traffic around bases or delays in base access. Area residents may also see or hear security activities associated with the exercise. (Post)

Space

San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23) successfully completed test recovery operations of NASA's Orion test article, Jan. 23. The Underway Recovery Test-6 (URT-6) is part of a U.S. government interagency effort to safely retrieve the Orion crew module, which is capable of carrying humans into deep space.

URT-6 consisted of releasing the test capsule from the well deck, then maneuvering the ship alongside the capsule at slow speed and retrieving it. The tests allowed NASA and the Navy to continue to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, procedures, hardware and personnel in real, open-ocean environment before conducting actual recovery operations.

The space-bound Orion is built at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and the RS-25 engines that will power the first stage of the Space Launch System are tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Post)

Education

Enterprise State Community College will receive $2.5 million to expand the Alabama Aviation College in Ozark, Ala. The funds are part of the Alabama Capital Improvement Trust Fund which awards funds for projects that promote economic development and industrial recruitment in the state.

The Alabama Aviation College offers training and course work in one of Alabama’s fastest growing career fields. There are programs in aircraft maintenance and avionics technology. The funds will be used to renovate campus infrastructure to expand the College’s Advanced Composite Training Program and prepare the campus for future program expansions. (Post)

Contracts

W.W. Gay Fire Protection Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., was awarded a $7.8 million task order under a previously awarded design-build multiple award construction contract for replacement of fire suppression system, aqueous film forming foam, hangars 1853 and 1854, at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. Work will be performed in Pensacola and is expected to be completed by January 2019. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, is the contracting activity.

Week in review (1/14 to 1/20)

It was back in April 2015 that I first wrote an article about the F-35 reprogramming lab at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The headline said a lot: "Putting the fight in the F-35."

The two-page article was the cover story for that issue of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor newsletter. It focused on the $300 million reprogramming lab that provides the F-35 with mission data to give it combat smarts. The story also noted that two more multimillion-dollar labs would be built at the base to customize data for F-35 partner nations. (newsletter, pp 1-2)

During the week, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded $7.5 million for modification of a previously awarded contract to transition the F-35 Australia, Canada, United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL) system from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Support includes required activities including packing, shipping, installation, integration, and testing. This modification also provides for initial spares for the ACURL. Seventy percent of the work for this contract will be done at Eglin and 30 percent at Fort Worth. It’s expected to be completed in March 2019. (Post)

Late last year, we told you that the folks who operate the Eglin reprogramming lab, the 53rd Wing’s 513th Electronic Warfare Squadron, was awarded on Oct. 25 the Outstanding Scientist/Engineer Team of 2017 for their work on the F-35A Initial Operational Capability delivery at Eglin Air Force Base. The Air Force Science, Technology, Engineering and Math annual award recognizes the efforts and achievements of scientists and engineers who make significant contributions to technology and engineering. For the last seven years, 513th EWS airmen and sailors of the F-35’s U.S. Reprogramming Laboratory have been doing just that. (2017 post)

Space

At Stennis Space Center, Miss. NASA engineers picked up this year where they left off in 2017, conducting a certification test of another RS-25 engine flight controller on the A-1 Test Stand.

The 365-second, full-duration test came a month after the space agency capped a year of RS-25 testing with a flight controller test in mid-December. A 3D printed part tested in December, a pogo accumulator assembly, was tested again. It's part of an ongoing series of tests with parts made using advanced manufacturing techniques that will make building future engines more affordable.

For this "green run" test, the flight controller was installed on RS-25 developmental engine E0528 and fired just as during an actual launch. Once certified, the flight controller will be removed and installed on a flight engine for use by NASA’s new deep-space rocket, the Space Launch System. (Post)

Testing

The Air Force's first fully upgraded C-130H arrived at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., last week to begin a full range of testing. The Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing-owned aircraft will be here for several months undergoing multiple test flights.

The goal of these evaluations is to collect data and confirm the increased fuel efficiency, reliability and overall performance improvements gained from the new propellers and upgraded engines.

The flight testing will be conducted by 153rd AW and C-130 Combined Test Force aircrews. ANG Airmen will maintain the aircraft during its time here. The Wyoming Air National Guard was chosen to receive the C-130H because of its involvement in the initial testing with the new systems in 2008, when the Air Force explored the idea of upgrading the H-model. (Post)

Airbus

The U.S. International Trade Commission released a detailed report that reviews arguments on both sides of the Boeing-Bombardier trade dispute and provides a basis on which commissioners will decide if Bombardier's CSeries sale to Delta Air Lines harmed Boeing.

The 118-page document written by the ITC's staff provides no recommendations, but rather compiles information the ITC gathered during its months-long trade investigation.

Bombardier says it has made "substantial further progress" toward building a new aircraft assembly line in Mobile, Ala., according to filing with the ITC. Bombardier is locked in a trade dispute with Boeing; Airbus and Bombardier have formed a joint venture and say they want to assemble jets in Mobile; and Boeing, which has scoffed at the Airbus-Bombardier plan, has explored a relationship with Brazil's Embraer that has some similar aspects. (Post)

Airports

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in West Bay northwest of Panama City has added another major airline service to cities that are hubs for American Airlines, allowing connections to flights all over the world. Starting June 7, American Airlines’ 65-seat Eagle service will be offering twice-a-day, nonstop daily service to and from Charlotte, N.C., and Dallas/Fort Worth international airports. (Post)

Further to the west, American Airlines plans to launch daily nonstop service between Pensacola International Airport in Florida and Philadelphia International Airport, also starting June 7. Philadelphia International becomes Pensacola International Airport’s eighteenth nonstop destination. (Post)

Unmanned

The property appraiser’s office in Florida’s Santa Rosa County is among the first in Florida using unmanned aerial system. The office has been testing the use of drones to supplement and update property data since September 2016.

Property Appraiser Greg Brown is responsible for identifying, locating and valuing all property within the county for tax purposes. Previously, every two years Brown's office has had to pay $250,000 per flight for an aerial photography company to fly over the county's 1,100 square miles to get photos. Using the drones pushes that need back to every three or four years. (Post)

Contracts

L3 Technologies Inc., Communications Systems-West, Salt Lake City, Utah, was awarded a $9 million contract to explore technologies enabling cooperative engagement in degraded communication environments for the next generation of munitions. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be complete by January 2025. Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Bell-Boeing JPO, Amarillo, Texas, was awarded a $35 million delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement in support of the V-22. Four percent of the work will be done in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Other work locations are in Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Missouri, the United Kingdom, New Jersey and Orlando, Fla. and is expected to be completed in April 2022. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, is the contracting activity.

Week in review (1/7 to 1/13)

Will we have a spaceport in Hancock County, Miss.?

The Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission has commissioned RS&H Inc. to study the feasibility of obtaining a Launch Site Operator License that could open the door to commercial space flight at Stennis International Airport in Kiln, Miss.

The airport is just outside NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, the nation's largest rocket engine test facility and home to some 40 federal, state and commercial companies, including Lockheed Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce uses the airport to transport the jetliner engines it tests at Stennis Space Center.

The Federal Aviation Administration has developed regulations that enable airports to host operations of reusable launch vehicles that take off and land like aircraft. Several kinds of such vehicles are currently under development.

Bill Cork, CEO of the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, said the commercial space industry is “poised for dynamic growth, and Hancock County is uniquely positioned to benefit from this growth.” (Post)

Space
Speaking of space, a secret spacecraft launched by a SpaceX rocket last weekend failed to enter a stable orbit and was lost. The spacecraft, called Zuma, launched Sunday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, apparently did not separate as it was supposed to from the upper stage of the rocket.

The payload is classified and built by Northrop Grumman, the aerospace and defense company. It was not clear if the failure was due to problems with the SpaceX rocket or with the Zuma spacecraft. SpaceX, which is developing its next-generation Raptor engine at Stennis Space Center, Miss., said the rocket performed as designed. (Post)

Although the satellite was lost, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket made a success vertical touchdown at Landing Zone 1, a SpaceX facility at Cape Canaveral. It landed less than 8 minutes after taking off. SpaceX now has 21 successful first stage returns, part of its plan to develop reusable rockets. (Post)

-- NASA is looking to small businesses and research institutions for innovative technologies that could have significant potential for successful transition into NASA mission programs and other commercial markets.

This year, through NASA's Small Business and Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I solicitation, proposals for research, development and technology demonstrations can be submitted until March 9, 2018, 4 p.m. CST. (Post)

Economic development

The beat goes on with attempts to land additional aerospace activities.

Florida's The Bay County Economic Development Alliance is working on 25 projects for 2018. Six of those projects may be announced within the first quarter of the new year, according to EDA President Becca Hardin.

Among the six is Project G-Force, which involves an aviation manufacturing company in the process of deciding to locate in Bay County or one other site. Hardin expects a decision on the $20 million project by the end of January. Another, called Project SoHo, is at the airport campus and would represent a $25 million investment. (Post)

Bases

Personnel from the 41st Aerial Port Squadron of Savannah, Ga., and other units from the Air Force, Army and Navy teamed up for a joint training exercise that ended last weekend at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., and the Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in Gulfport, Miss.

The primary goal of GRIP III Breaking Barriers was to give reservists and military members an opportunity to train with aircraft, personnel, and equipment that they don't regularly encounter in everyday training. The 1108th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group at the CRTC provided UH-60 helicopters to ferry personnel between Keesler and the CRTC, simulating transportation between forward operating bases. The Navy Special Boat Team 22 from Stennis Space Center, Miss., provided a riverine command boat, rigid inflatable boats and trailers to allow personnel to practice loading and off-loading. (Post)

Week in review (12/31 to 1/6)

Last week I touched on some of the news from 2017 that was important to the Gulf Coast aerospace corridor, so it makes sense to look ahead this time by filling you in on upcoming issues of our bimonthly aerospace newsletter. It's something from the future where I have some control.

We plan to have six issues during 2018, assuming we get enough underwriters to back our research. We provide the newsletter free to readers, but that’s only possible through the support of underwriters who want our unique aerospace/aviation coverage to continue.

Our next issue in February will have a four-page cover story focusing on Alabama's aerospace footprint. If you are a regular reader, you know we had cover stories about Louisiana's and Mississippi's aerospace activities in the October and December issues, respectively. Our April issue will focus on Florida.

Because 2018 is an off-year for our biennial Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor book, we will turn our June newsletter into something of a highly condensed update of the book published in 2017. We’ll have an eight-page overview on the major aerospace activities in our region, which should come in handy for folks from our region who attend the July 16-22 Farnborough Air Show.

We're also in the early stages of planning an issue in October that will focus on educational opportunities in the aerospace and aviation fields. Of course, in addition to those planned stories there will be articles prompted by breaking aerospace news events in the region.

Contact me if you're interested in being among the subscribers who have the newsletter PDF delivered via email. You can see all our past issues at our archive.

Now for your rather short week in review:

Bases

The Navy Blue Angels are now in El Centro, Calif., for winter training. They left Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., Wednesday. The team will perform in El Centro March 10, then return to Pensacola after that to begin the regular show season. Naval Air Station El Centro is between San Diego and Yuma, Ariz. (Post)

-- An associate of mine, who also happens to maintain our shipbuilding/maritime news feed, pointed out a story from the Northwest Florida Daily News. It said some 400 gallons of Jet-A fuel spilled early Friday at Eglin Building 92 after a switch box froze. That activated fuel pumps, overfilling an underground storage tank. Absorbents were put in place to soak up the spill.

Contract

The Boeing Co. Defense, Space and Security, St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $193.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract for Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) Increment 1 Lots 12-14 production. This modification provides for the purchase of an additional quantity of 6,000 SDB 1 all-up-rounds being produced under the basic contract. Work will be performed in St. Louis and is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2020. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (12/24 to 12/30)

This is the time of year when folks are inclined to reflect on the year that's wrapping up, and I'm no different. We certainly had a lot of noteworthy aerospace-related events along the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor, all underscoring that this region is a hot spot for aerospace and aviation.

Of course, we have a long history in the field, but it's been getting more attention in recent years. Aerospace and aviation are two of the most research-intensive fields, and the folks who toil away in the field are paid well. It includes a wide range of jobs, from scientists and engineers to janitors and ticketing agents. It involves the government and commercial companies, and involves some of the hottest fields anywhere, including unmanned systems and commercial space exploration.

In this rather cursory look at the highlights of 2017, keep in mind I'm not touching on everything – not by a long shot. If you have the time and inclination, go to the aerospace news feed and in the left column you'll see "blog archive." There were 403 news items posted in 2017. Click on each month and you'll be able to see every headline for the brief posted during the year – as well as previous years going back to 2008.

Interested in what happened before this news blog was launched in 2008? On the home page of Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor, click on "news" and then go to "archives." You can find news items going back to 2005.

So, here are the highlights of 2017:

The 50th Alabama-built passenger jet was delivered in December to Delta Air Lines, and orders continue to come in for popular A320 family of Airbus jets. What might have been the most stunning news was word that a new assembly line might be coming to Mobile to build Bombardier C Series jets. A lot of hurdles are still in front of the project, but what an endorsement for the work being done in Mobile. By the way, in January the Airbus Engineering Center marked 10 years in Mobile.

Over in Mississippi, NASA's Stennis Space Center has made it clear it's interested in creating a research park near the center. Some of what's being called Enterprise Park will be inside SSC and some will be outside, a feature that will make it easier for companies that want to be near SSC but don't want to go through the tight security requirements within the gates.

Anyone who knows me knows I've been a big advocate of research/technology parks. It's a magnet that draws the best and the brightest. There are plenty of examples of the benefit of this kind of approach - just look at Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, Ala.

SSC during the year also continued testing the RS-25 engine that will power the first stage of NASA's Space Launch System, which will take astronauts into deep space. And it's not just NASA that's involved in the field. Several commercial space companies during 2017 decided to use SSC for rocket engine development. Relativity Space started testing its liquid oxygen/liquid methane engine at SSC. In addition, Stratolaunch signed an agreement with NASA to use the E1 test stand at SSC to test rocket engines.

Before all that, in May, Aerojet Rocketdyne was selected to build the main propulsion system for a reusable hypersonic aircraft, the XS-1, being developed by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency and Boeing. Aerojet Rocketdyne will conduct assembly and ground testing work at SSC for the XS-1, part of DARPA’s Experimental Spaceplane program. Aerojet Rocketdyne also is using SSC to conduct testing for its AR1 rocket engine, being developed to replace the Russian-made RD-180.

Companies not involved in space were also expanding in the Gulf Coast region during the year. In Alabama's Baldwin County, UTC Foley opened a new nacelles assembly facility. Across the bay in Mobile County, Safran is opening at new facility at the Mobile Aeroplex for its nacelles work.

Global aircraft supplier GKN Aerospace decided during the year to locate an assembly plant near Panama City, Fla., at the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Earlier, in May, Northrop Grumman said its Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss., is expanding its workload to include subassembly work for the F-35.

At Eglin Air Force Base, the 96th Cyberspace Test Group was activated late in the year. To the east of Eglin near Panama City, Tyndall Air Force Base was chosen for an MQ-9 Wing, also late in the year.

Speaking of drones, Mississippi State University in Starkville was chosen by the Department of Homeland Security as a base of operations for drone research. Much of the work on how to best to use the devices will be done in South Mississippi, including Camp Shelby, Stennis Space Center, and Singing River Island in Jackson County.

That's a quick look at the highlights. If you want to read beyond the headlines and briefs, you can read more in-depth stories in our bimonthly aerospace newsletter. You can look at all the stories from 2017 in our newsletter archive. The 2017 newsletters begin with Vol. IV (February) and end with Vol. V (December).

Now for your week in review:

Bases
Chief Master Sgt. Michael West, a Special Tactics operator with the 24th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., was awarded the Silver Star Medal, the nation's third highest medal for valor against an enemy of the United States.

West was awarded the medal on Dec. 15 for his actions during the five-day Operation MEDUSA in 2006. West utilized 58 coalition aircraft to deliver 24,000 pounds of precision ordnance to eliminate more than 500 enemy forces, securing the safety of 51 U.S. Spec Ops forces, and 33 coalition partners.

West was originally awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in May 2007, but due to a recent DOD-wide review, his package was resubmitted for an upgrade. (Post)

Contracts

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, Calif., was awarded $255.3 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the Lot 3 low-rate initial production of three MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft, trade studies and tooling in support of the Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office. Moss Point, Miss., will do 4.2 percent of the work. Work is expected to be completed in December 2021. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Missile Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $25.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract for special tooling and test equipment, for the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile Lots 28-30 production. Work will be performed in Tucson with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2020. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Missile Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $634.2 million contract for Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) production Lot 31. The contract is for the production of the AMRAAM missile and other AMRAAM system items. Work will be performed at Tucson with an expected completion date of Jan. 31, 2020. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (12/17 to 12/23)

With everybody running around trying to get last-minute shopping completed, this is one of the weekly columns that likely slips by unnoticed. But here it is anyway, a day later than normal because I was among those running around like crazy on Saturday.

Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Now for your week in review:


F-35
The Alabama Air National Guard’s 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field in Montgomery, Ala. has been selected for a site for a new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter mission. The 187th was one of five ANG units on the short list being considered. In choosing Montgomery as one of two bases for the F-35A, it means 1,000 jobs over the next few years, a $70 million up-front investment, and a $24 million annual economic impact to the region. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. (Post)

Bases

Naval Air Station Whiting Field is the recipient of the Installation Excellence Award, the third win over the last four years for NAS Whiting. The award recognizes top Navy commands at shore for their excellence across several categories, including installation management, program excellence, environmental stewardship, mission successes and community outreach. NAS Whiting Field, in Milton, was selected as the winner in the small base category from a field of 32 installations. (Post)

Space

Joan Higginbotham wanted to be an engineer, and thought she might work for IBM. What she didn’t expect was to travel in space, she told University of New Orleans graduates at their recent commencement. She shared her journey from a college graduate with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering to one of only three African-American women to travel into space. She traveled on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station in 2006. “The sky is absolutely no longer the limit,” Higginbotham told graduates. “I am challenging you to aim high.” (Post)

Contracts

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded $7 billion for F-22 sustainment. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., four other operation bases and six support locations, as well as at other potential stateside and overseas locations, combat deployment and enroute support bases, potential locations through depot partnering agreements, and system program office locations. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity. … Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, N.Y., was awarded a $25 million modification to a previously awarded contract for weapons planning software. Work will be performed in Bethpage, with an expected completion date of Sept. 28, 2018. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Silicon Graphics Federal LLC, Annapolis Junction, Md., was awarded a $22.6 million contract for Department of Defense high-performance computing modernization program’s technology insertion. Work will be performed in Stennis Space Center, Miss., with an estimated completion date of July 20, 2023. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity. … Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $33.5 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the Increment V production and delivery of three Fire Scout MQ-8C unmanned air systems. Work will be performed in Moss Point, Miss., Ozark, Ala., and other locations and is expected to be completed in March 2020. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. … JPATS Logistics Services LLC, Cape Canaveral, Fla., was awarded a single award contract with a five-year ordering period and a maximum value of $2.2 billion for the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System T-6 contractor operated and maintained base supply services, which will provide a full spectrum of transparent supply chain management services to support safe, flyable T-6 aircraft to meet users’ daily flight schedules, consistent with Department of Defense and commercial sector best practices in procuring, producing and delivering products and services to customers. Work will be performed at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Naval Air Station Whiting Field and other locations. Work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2022. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. … Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corp., Redondo Beach, Calif., was awarded an $110 million contract for the gray wolf science and technology demonstration effort. Work will be performed in Redondo Beach, with an expected completion date of Dec. 17, 2024. Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. Infinite Energy Construction Inc., Kansas City, Mo., was awarded a $9.2 million contract for simplified acquisition of base engineering requirements. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., with an expected completion date of Jan. 1, 2023. Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity.

Week in review (12/10 to 12/16)

The December issue of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor newsletter will be published Tuesday and available for download at our website. Subscribers will receive it via email to their inbox.

The cover story highlights Mississippi's considerable aerospace and aviation activities, from training military pilots to building unmanned aircraft and testing huge rocket engines. It’s the second of a four-part series where we focus on the aerospace footprint of the four states that make up the Aerospace Alliance.

We also have a story about the Airbus Mobile assembly facility, which just delivered its 50th jetliner to Delta Air Lines. The plant at the Mobile Aeroplex is on a roll. It recently learned it will be building more jetliners for Delta. We'll also tell you what we know about the Bombardier C Series that officials plan to build in Mobile.

Finally, we'll tell you about the aerospace summit that was held in New Orleans just after our October issue was published. The summit attracted the movers and shakers from the Gulf Coast region, and we’ll provide you with some of the highlights, including what's in the works to create a research park in and around Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Now for your week in review:

Airbus
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has placed an order with Airbus for 100 of the A321neo aircraft, most of which will be built at the Airbus U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Mobile, Ala. The planes will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1133G-JM geared turbofan engines.

Delta's announcement on the A321neo follows several orders in recent years for the current engine option (ceo) version of the A321. Delta has ordered a total of 117 A321ceos, each powered by CFM56 engines from CFM International.

With more than 5,300 orders received from 96 customers since its launch in 2010, the A320neo family has captured some 60 percent share of the market. The Delta has taken delivery of 13 U.S.-manufactured Airbus aircraft since last year.

In addition, less than two years after Airbus delivered the first A320 family aircraft built in Mobile, the 50th aircraft built in Mobile was delivered to Delta this week. The milestone was celebrated by the facility’s employees, as well as Airbus Americas Chairman Allan McArtor and members of the Delta Air Lines delivery team. (Post)

The Mobile factory produces four aircraft per month for delivery to Airbus’ U.S. customers. Plans for further production ramp up are currently being discussed. (Post)

Space

NASA engineers wrapped up a year of Space Launch System testing with a final RS-25 rocket engine hot fire on Dec. 13 at Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi.

The 400-second test on the A-1 Test Stand was a "green run" test of an RS-25 flight controller. It marked the eighth RS-25 test of the year and the sixth flight controller to be tested for use on NASA's Space Launch System vehicle.

The engine tested also included a large 3D-printed part scheduled for use on future RS-25 flight engines. The part, a beach ball-sized pogo accumulator assembly, is a complex piece of hardware that acts as a shock absorber to dampen vibrations, or oscillations, caused by propellants as they flow between the vehicle and the engine.

Initial reports show the 3D-printed hardware performed as expected, opening the door for more components scheduled for future tests. (Post)

Contracts

The Boeing Co., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded an $18.1 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the integrated sustainment support of the AC-130U gunships. This modification provides for the continuation of services for the development, modification, sustainment and maintenance of the AC-130U gunship. Work will be performed in Fort Walton Beach; Hurlburt Field, Fla.; Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan; and Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2018. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Missile Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded an $8.5 million modification to a previously awarded contract to provide form-fit-function replace hardware assets to include guidance sections and integrated test vehicles under the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile lots 28-30 production. Work will be performed in Tucson with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2019. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a ceiling $6.7 million contract for F119 engine sustainment. Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is among the work locations. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. … L3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded a
$79.4 million contract for contractor operated and maintained base supply of the Air Education and Training Command fleet of 178 T-1A trainer aircraft. Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., is among the work sites. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Okla., is the contracting activity … L3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., also was awarded a $10.3 million modification to a previously awarded contract for logistics support of the T-1A aircraft. Services include contractor-operated maintained supply, over and above, on-equipment maintenance, data and field service representatives. Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., is among the work sites. Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity.

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

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

Here's your week in review:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Space

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

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

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

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

F-35 contracts

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

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

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

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

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

Other contracts

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

Week in review (11/19 to 11/25)

L3 Crestview Aerospace, an aeronautical manufacturer that employs more than 500 people at its operation in Crestview, is up for sale. The Crestview plant manufactures and modifies cabins, fuselages, tail booms and other parts for commercial and military aircraft. L3 Crestview Aerospace also includes a plant in Chihuahua, Mexico, that produces sheet metal and parts for commercial aircraft structures. It’s part of a move by New York-based L3 Technologies to focus on more profitable businesses.

L3 initially announced its intent to sell Vertex Aerospace, which includes Crestview Aerospace, a couple of weeks ago. The announcement that Crestview Aerospace is for sale does not mean that layoffs or other job actions at the company’s local facility are imminent, said L3 spokesman Lance Martin. (Post)

Space

WIRED takes a look behind the scenes at five NASA facilities, including Michoud and Stennis Space Center, to capture how engineers build and test in preparation for the 2019 launch of the most powerful rocket ever built, the Space Launch System. (Post)

Bases

Air Force Col. Michael E. Martin has been nominated for appointment to the rank of brigadier general. Martin is currently serving as the commander, 24th Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla. His was among a series of appointments made by the president and announced last week by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. (Post)

Contracts

Raytheon Co. - Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $59.7 million contract for Enhanced Paveway II's support equipment and support hours. Work will be performed at Tucson, with an expected completion date of Feb. 28, 2019. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Arête Associates, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $7.5 million modification to a previously awarded contract to provide Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) program systems support for the AN/DVS-1 COBRA Block 1 system and support equipment. Work will be performed in Tucson and is expected to be completed by December 2018. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity.

Week in review (11/12 to 11/18)

Another company signs up to test engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss., a huge A320 purchase will be a boost for the Mobile Airbus facility, the V-22 fleet has topped 400,000 flight hours, and more details on the C Series that will be build in Mobile were among the news items of interest to the Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor during the week.

Here’s your week in review:

Space Stratolaunch will test engines at NASA's Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi. That's according to an agreement signed in September. NASA published the agreement on its website as part of a provision in a NASA authorization act signed into law this year to disclose such agreements. An annex to that agreement specifies that it involves "testing of its propulsion system test article element 1" at Stennis's E1 test stand.

That facility has supported engine tests by a number of companies in the past under similar agreements that provide access to test stands there on a non-exclusive basis. Stratolaunch plans to deliver the test article to Stennis for "fit tests and checkouts" by the end of May 2018, with the test series completed by the end of 2018. Stratolaunch will pay NASA $5.1 million under the reimbursable agreement to cover costs of the test campaign, including an upfront payment of $1 million. (Post)

Airbus

The A320 assembly line at the Mobile Aeroplex, which was already scheduled to build jetliners for Frontier Airlines starting next year, will now build even more thanks to a major deal between Airbus and Indigo Partners.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Airbus and Indigo Partners for 430 additional A320neo aircraft. The commitment is comprised of 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos worth $49.5 billion at list price. The agreement was announced at the Dubai Airshow.

"Any A320 order placed anywhere in the world is good for Mobile because it means a strong order book and solidifies the U.S. Manufacturing Facility's role in Airbus' global production network," wrote Kristi Tucker of Airbus' Mobile operation, in an email. "It's extra special when there's a direct connection to the order, such as this one." (Post)

The aircraft would go to airlines in Indigo's investment portfolio: Frontier Airlines of the U.S., Mexico's Volaris, European carrier Wizz Air Holdings and JetSmart, which began operating this year in Chile. Airbus builds the A320 family of jetliners in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; Tianjin, China; and Mobile, Ala. (Post)

C Series

Bombardier Inc. is forecasting it plans to spend $300 million on its C Series assembly facility in Mobile, Ala., creating as many as 2,000 jobs in the U.S. Airbus and Canada-based Bombardier announced in October that they had agreed to form a partnership to build Bombardier's C Series passenger jets in Mobile.

The C series project would create 400 to 500 direct jobs and 550 to 700 indirect jobs at supplier and support companies. The forecast was part of a regulatory filing. Still to be determined is the fate of the proposed import duties of 300 percent on the C Series tentatively imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce in response to a price-dumping claim made by Boeing. (Post)

Bases

The Bell Boeing V-22 fleet of tiltrotor aircraft, including both CV-22 and MV-22 variants, has surpassed the 400,000-flight hour milestone. The V-22 Osprey has been continuously deployed since entering service in 2007 with the United States Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command in 2009.

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multirole combat aircraft that uses tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, its nacelles can be rotated to transition the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. (Post)

-- Capt. Ryan Bernacchi turned over command of the Navy Blue Angels to Cmdr. Eric Doyle at a ceremony last Sunday at the Blue Angels Atrium inside the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola. About 500 people attended the event. (Post)

-- Air Force Col. William W. Whittenberger Jr. has been nominated for appointment to the rank of brigadier general. Whittenberger is currently serving as the mobilization assistant to the director of strategic plans, programs and requirements, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla. His was among a series of appointments made by the president and announced today by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. (Post)

Contracts

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded an $11.3 million modification to a previously awarded contract for QF-16 full-scale aerial target lot 5B. Work will be performed in St. Louis, with an estimated completion date of April 27, 2021. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. … Bell-Boeing JPO, Amarillo, Texas, was awarded $10 million modification to a previously issued task order, placed against a basic ordering agreement. This modification provides for field representative and logistics support services in support of the V-22 aircraft for the government of Japan. Work will be performed at Camp Kisarazu, Japan (85 percent); Philadelphia, Pa. (11 percent); and Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (4 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2019. 

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

A leadership change at Airbus Americas, the return of an Air Force squadron to full operational capability, large military training exercises, an Apollo-era artifact at Infinity Science Center, updates on the F-35, and plans for a new terminal were among the news items during the week of interest to the Gulf Coast aerospace corridor.

But before we get to your week in review, let me extend my gratitude to all my fellow veterans for their service. I come from a family with a long tradition of serving in the military. We've served in every branch, from one hitch to long careers, so this day is particularly important to my extended family. Thank you all.

Now for your week in review:

Airbus

C. Jeffrey Knittel will become chairman and chief executive at Herndon, Va.-based Airbus Americas early next year. Knittel will replace Airbus Americas CEO Barry Eccleston, who is retiring Feb. 28, 2018.

Allan McArtor, chairman of Airbus Americas, will remain with the company as chairman emeritus. Knittel, who brings more than 25 years of global aerospace leadership experience to the position, will join the company at its Americas headquarters Jan. 12. (Post)

Bases

The 815th Airlift Squadron has completed its quest to reach full operational capability, four years after the squadron’s future was uncertain. The squadron and its C-130J Flying Jennies are again ready to deploy and provide combat-ready airmen for airlift mission.

As part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, the Air Force announced plans to transfer 10 of the Air Force Reserve 403rd Wing's C-130J aircraft. But two years later the Secretary of the Air Force reversed that recommendation, beginning the programming and budgeting work to restore personnel and mission capability at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. (Post)

-- Personnel and equipment from Air Force installations across the country have converged on Tyndall Air Force Base in Northwest Florida to participate in Checkered Flag 18-1, a two-week, large-scale exercise that integrates the war-fighting capabilities of fourth-and fifth-generation aircraft. It’s being held with the concurrently running Weapons Systems Evaluation Program, Combat Archer.

"What we have in our Checkered Flag airspace is an over water range that affords us the opportunity to be fully supersonic down to the ground," said Air Force Lt. Col. Daniel Lee, 44th Fighter Group deputy commander and Checkered Flag 18-1 Air Expeditionary Wing vice commander. "This is not a capability that we have on a large scale at any other ranges within the United States."

The exercise wraps up Nov. 17. (Post)

Space

An early artifact of America's moon program is on display in Mississippi’s Infinity Science Center. It’s the command module from Apollo 4, an unmanned 1967 mission that successfully demonstrated the full Saturn V rocket and the capsule that would carry men to the moon.

The command module is on long-term loan from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & Space Museum. The display is part of a redesign of the museum's space exhibits. The Saturn V rocket was among those tested at neighboring Stennis Space Center.

The 8,000-pound module was stored for five years at Stennis out of public view. (Post)

-- As the Senate Commerce Committee prepares to advance his nomination as NASA administrator to the full Senate, Jim Bridenstine offered pledges of continuity for many key agency programs. Bridenstine said he believed the Space Launch System and Orion programs are critical to the agency’s exploration plans, as well as contributions from commercial space ventures. (Post)

F-35

The 53rd Electronic Warfare Group’s Partner Support Complex delivered the F-35 mission data file to Norway Oct. 26. This is the first overseas delivery of Block 3F mission data to a foreign nation and was accomplished in anticipation of Norway’s first F-35s, which arrived last week and will be marked by a Nov.10 ceremony there.

The delivery of Block 3F mission data enables the F-35 to accomplish its primary missions of air interdiction, close air support, and suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses. Mission data files enable the aircraft to know what threats to search for and when, providing the F-35 its means of deciphering the environment.

The men and women of the PSC are charged with programming this essential mission data software for eight F-35 partner nations, to include Norway, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Denmark. (Post)

-- Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $34.6 million contract for weapons capabilities technology maturation and risk reduction pre-engineering, manufacturing and development activities for dual-capability F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft and small-diameter bomb 2 (SDB-II) in support of the Marine Corps and Air Force.

Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in July 2018. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. 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)

Airports

Design details for a new 120,000-square-foot, $90 million terminal at Louisiana’s Lafayette Regional Airport were unveiled during the week at the airport commission’s regular meeting.

Lafayette Regional Airport was the fourth busiest in Louisiana in 2016 in terms of enplanements, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, but Airport Director Steven Picou said it operates with the smallest square-footage.

The airport in Lafayette, site of a Bell Helicopter facility, is along Interstate 10 west of New Orleans. (Post)

Contracts

Reliance Test & Technology, Crestview, Fla., was awarded a $48 million modification to a previously awarded contract for Eglin operation and maintenance services. Work will be performed at Eglin test and training complex, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., with an expected completion date of Sept. 30 2026. Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. … Raytheon Co. Missile Systems Division, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $17.3 million modification to a previously awarded contract for High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile Targeting System (HTS) contractor logistics support (CLS) services. Work will be performed in Tucson, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2018. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.