Four Hurlburt airmen die

Four airmen from Hurlburt Field, Fla., died Saturday in an accident near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti involving their U-28. Killed were Capt. Ryan P. Hall, 30, of Colorado Springs, Colo., assigned to the 319th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt; Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock, 29, of Newnan, Ga., assigned to the 34th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt; 1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens, 26, of Bend, Ore., also with the 34th; and Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten, 26, of Upper Marlboro, Md., assigned to the 25th Intelligence Squadron. The U-28 is a single engine aircraft that provides intelligence and surveillance for special operations forces. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Hurlburt Field is home of the Air Force Special Operations. (Sources: DoD, Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/20/12)

Two states team on megasite

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Four economic development groups in two states are working together on a megasite along the Interstate 10 corridor on a road linking Dothan, Ala., to Panama City, Fla. The organizations are the Bay County Economic Development Alliance, Alabama Development Office, Enterprise Florida and the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce. Neal Wade, executive director of the Bay EDA, told the Panama City News Herald that representatives have been meeting for more than six months to prepare for the project along State 77 and I-10. Wade described the megasite as an industrial manufacturing center. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 02/16/12)

ET-1 tested at Eglin

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command successfully completed a test flight of the new Economical Target-1, Feb. 15 at Eglin Air Force Base. The Economical Target-1 missile was launched from the Santa Rosa Test Site with the support of the 46th Test Wing on Eglin into the ocean area within the test range. The target missile's flight was tracked by several range sensors and preliminary indications are that all data collection objectives were met. (Source: Army, 02/15/12)

NASA tests J-2X powerpack

J-2X powerpack test. NASA photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Engineers conducted an initial test of the J-2X engine powerpack Feb. 15, launching a series of tests in development of the rocket engine that will help power the Space Launch System. This test is the first of about a dozen that will be conducted throughout the year at SSC. The first test was the first time cryogenic fuels were introduced into the powerpack to ensure the integrity of the facility and the test article in preparation for full power, longer duration testing. The powerpack is on the top portion of the J-2X and includes the gas generator, oxygen and fuel turbopumps along with related ducts and valves. (Source: NASA, Pratt and Whitney, 02/15/12)

Marines roll out F-35B

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 will host the Marine Corps' official F-35B Lightning II rollout ceremony Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. at its Eglin hangar. Gen. James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, is scheduled to be the presiding officer. U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller and Robert Stevens, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin, will also be speaking. The F-35B is slated to replace the Marine Corps' F/A-18 Hornet, AV-8B Harrier and EA-6B Prowler. Eglin Air Force Base is home to the F-35 training center, which will be used by all branches of the military and allied nations. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 02/16/12)

Eglin needs to prep for inflow

DESTIN, Fla. -- The commander of the 96th Air Base Wing said Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., isn't worried about hits Eglin might take in any Base Realignment and Closure round. Instead, Col. Sal Nodjomian wants to base to take steps to ensure it can take in new missions. Nodjomian, speaking at Tuesday's Leaders in Business Lunch organized by the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce, played down the Air Force Material Command's decision announced in November to close the Air Armament Center and merge the 96th mission into the 46th Test Wing. He said the only impact for Eglin was the elimination of management positions. He said the 46th and 96th will be combined into a "super wing" that would now report to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (Source: Destin Log, 02/14/12) Previous related post

New flight added

GULFPORT, Miss. -- A new direct flight will be offered between the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and the Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Fla., beginning in June. The 90-minute flight will be offered three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. A special promotional fare of $99 is being offered through Feb. 22. (Source: Sun Herald, 02/15/12)

Airbus, ST Aerospace team

SINGAPORE -- Airbus, ST Aerospace and EADS EFW will work together on a program to convert A330 passenger jets into cargo freighters. A memorandum of understanding was signed at the Singapore Airshow. The P2F program will cover the conversion of A330-200 and A330-300 jets. ST Aerospace will lead the engineering development and EADS EFW will carry out most of the conversions in Dresden, Germany. About 2,700 freighters will be required over the next 20 years, and about half will be in the mid-sized freighter segment, including 900 conversions. EADS-EFW chief executive Andreas Sperl said that once the program is up and running, Dresden would be capable of converting 15-18 A330s a year. EADS EFW will become the European center for ST Aerospace's global maintenance, repair and overhaul operations. (Source: Wall Street Journal, Channel News Asia, ST Aerospace, Flightglobal, 02/15/12) Gulf Coast note: EADS, Airbus and ST Aerospace have operations in Mobile, Ala.

Contract: Boeing, $111.4M

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an $111,397,676 predominantly firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of 4,844 joint direct attack munitions. The location of the performance is St. Charles, Mo. Work is expected to be completed by May 2014. AAC/EBDK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/14/12)

AT-6 has a first at Eglin

Hawker Beechcraft said its AT-6 light attack aircraft successfully fired laser-guided rockets during tests last month at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., making the AT-6 the first fixed-wing aircraft to launch a laser-guided rocket. The 2.75" laser-guided rocket testing included BAE Systems' Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System and Raytheon's TALON. The weapons were fired from about three nautical miles and guided to their targets using either an airborne laser from the AT-6 or a ground laser from the Eglin range. Both rockets were scored as hits on their respective targets. Hawker is fighting a decision by the Air Force to award a contract for light attach aircraft to Sierra Nevada and Embraer. A stop work order on the contract as issued after Hawker took the matter to federal court. (Source: Wichita Business Journal, Hawker Beechcraft, 02/13/12)

Eglin gets new lab

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The new High Pressure Particulate Physics Facility has opened at Eglin Air Force Base in Northwest Florida. The facility was built to enhance the role of science and technology in smart munitions development, and contains a 60-mm smooth bore gun, complemented with high-resolution, high-precision, time-resolved diagnostics for use with various imaging technologies. The gun will be able to launch a few kilogram mass at high speed and will address basic questions on material behavior, as it relates to munition weapon systems and weapon effects. (Source: Air Force Materiel Command, 02/14/12)

Contract: Jacobs, $36M

Jacobs Technology, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $36,097,935 firm-fixed-price and level-of-effort contract. The award will provide for the technical and administrative services in support of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protection vehicle. Work will be performed in Kuwait; Warren, Mich.; Stafford, Va.; Aberdeen, Md.; Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Benning, Ga.; Afghanistan; Camp Atterbury, Ind.; and Red River Army Depot, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 6, 2013. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/13/12)

Contract: Jacobs, $157.2M

Jacobs Technology Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $157,209,880 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide for the systems engineering and technical assistance support services. Work will be performed in Fort Belvoir, Va.; Natick, Mass.; Eatontown, N.J.; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; Springfield, Va.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Fort Knox, Ky.; and Fort Benning, Ga., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2015. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/13/12)

Budget wants two BRAC rounds

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon's 2013 budget calls for two rounds of base closings, according to documents released Monday. The last Base Realignment and Closure round was in 2005. All BRACS have pit communities and states against each other because bases are major employers. The budget asks for BRAC rounds in 2013 and 2015. (Source: USA Today, 02/13/12) Gulf Coast note: This region is home to a heavy concentration of military bases, as well as military activities at non-DoD facilities. Previous on BRAC

GE Aviation growth

GE Aviation's production rates are expected to grow from about 3,000 commercial and military engine deliveries in 2011 to 3,400 in 2012 and 3,800 in 2013, according to the company. "We're firing on all cylinders," said David Joyce, president and CEO of GE Aviation. The company, which has about 25,000 workers in the U.S., is investing some $580 million in plant, equipment, and tooling across 55 U.S. operations. It will add more than 400 employees over the next three years. By the end of the year GE Aviation will complete construction of a 300,000-square-foot factory in Ellisville, Miss., to make composite components for jet engines, and another 300,000 square-foot facility in Auburn, Ala., that will make machined parts for commercial and military engines. Construction is also under way on GE's new electric power integrated systems R&D center in Dayton, Ohio. (Source: GE Aviation via Business Wire, 02/13/12)

Mississippi player in growth field

Mississippi is a key player in the growing unmanned aerial systems field. In addition to the Global Hawks and Fire Scouts built in Moss Point, Mississippi has two other companies building four types of UAVs, as well as airspace where UAV flights are permitted and companies that work on sensors and advanced materials, both important to the industry. A feature story. (Source: Sun Herald, 02/12/12)

Airbus to build in Mobile?

SEATTLE -- There was speculation at the aerospace suppliers' conference this past week that Airbus could announce this summer that it will build commercial jets in the United States. The heavy favorite is Mobile, Ala., where Airbus parent EADS had planned to build aerial tankers until it lost the competition to Boeing. Two people who have contact with Airbus and its suppliers said they believe Mobile will build up to 10 A320 jets a month. Last month, the chief financial officer of EADS raised the possibility that Airbus will soon resurrect the idea of building jets in the U.S. (Source: Seattle Times, 02/11/12) Previous related post

Carroll: Committed to Eglin

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll told fellow task force members she's committed to work with them to help preserve the Air Armament Center and 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. State Sen. Don Gaetz, who sponsored the bill to create and fund the task force, had been critical of Carroll, saying he thought she was hesitant to engage in effective lobbying in Washington. He said he welcomed her "change of view" on the Eglin issue. The task force is hoping to prevent the Air Force from placing Eglin's 46th Test Wing under the command of a two-star general at California's Edwards Air Force Base. They fear it's a first step toward moving the wing's research, development, test and evaluation function to California. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/11/12) Previous post

Bill has NATO Global Hawk funds

Bloomberg reports that the Pentagon proposes in its new budget spending $1.2 billion for the first three NATO variant Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and three more Navy variants, according to an official. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said this month it planned to buy five Alliance Ground System through 2017. The Navy already has two demonstration versions of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance System. Congress will get the budget Feb. 13. (Source: Bloomberg, 02/09/12) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds the Global Hawk fuselages in Moss Point, Miss. Previous related posts: NATO getting Global Hawks; Global Hawk variant to be cut; NATO to ink AGS deal in May

Drone foreign sales discussed

Navy leaders are considering selling Scan Eagle unmanned drones to Kuwait, Pakistan and the Netherlands, according to a presentation by Marine Corp. Col. James Rector of the Naval Air Systems Command. He made the comment during the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International's annual program in Washington. There are also informal talks involving Australia and Japan to buy Global Hawk fixed-wing reconnaissance drones built by Northrop Grumman. (Source: AOL Defense, 02/09/12) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss. Correction note: AOL Defense initially reported the drone being considered for sale was Fire Scout, rather than Scan Eagle.