Contract: Cymstar, $20.4M

Cymstar Services LLC, Broken Arrow, Okla., has been awarded a $20,368,605 modification (P00002) to FA8621-14-C-6338 for operations and sustainment support for the C-130J maintenance and aircrew training system devices, as well as material and travel costs to support the effort. The work will be done at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2015. Fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $20,339,878 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/30/14)

Contract: Raytheon, $18.7M

Raytheon Co. Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., has been awarded an $18,744,712 fixed-priced-incentive-fee contract for HARM targeting system (HTS) contractor logistic support. Contractor will provide depot repair services and sustaining engineering for HTS pods, as well as a variety of other HTS sustainment-related services and supplies. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2015. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $13,236,118 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8675-15-C-0004). (Source: DoD, 12/30/14)

Contract: Cubic, $15.2M

Cubic Defense Applications, Inc, San Diego, Calif., has been awarded a $15,200,000 firm-fixed-price contract. Contractor will design, develop, integrate, and test hardware and weapons simulations source code software solely for the Royal Saudi Air Force P5 combat training system (P5 CTS). They will also provide contractor logistics support of on-site advice and informal training in operation and maintenance of Saudi P5 CTS equipment at King Abulaziz, King Faisal, King Khalid and King Fahad Air Bases in Saudi Arabia. Work will primarily be performed at San Diego and Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 17, 2017. This contract is 100 percent foreign military sales and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8678-15-C-0067). (Source: DoD, 12/29/14)

Contract: Jacobs, $42.4M

Jacobs Technology Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded a $42,383,852 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the development of a launch test set complex for prototype testing and qualification of a launcher subsystem for the U.S. Navy and the government of the United Kingdom. Work will be done in China Lake, Calif., and is expected to be completed in December 2019. Navy working capital funds in the amount of $200,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (90 percent) and the government of the United Kingdom (10 percent) under the foreign military sales program. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR.6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity (N68936-15-C-0026). (Source: DoD, 12/29/14)

KC-46 tanker has first flight

EVERETT, Wash. -- Boeing and the Air Force successfully completed the first flight of the KC-46 tanker test program Sunday. The Boeing 767-2C took off from Paine Field, Wash., and landed three hours and 32 minutes later at Boeing Field. The aircraft will receive its military systems following certification. Boeing is on contract to deliver the first 18 of 179 KC-46 aircraft to the Air Force by 2017. (Source: Boeing, 12/28/14) Gulf Coast note: Boeing won the tanker contract over Airbus Group, then called EADS, which planned to build the tanker in Mobile, Ala. Airbus later opted to build A320 family jetliners in Mobile. The assembly line will open in 2015.

Wicked Wanda logs final flight

"Wicked Wanda" gets ready for its last flight.
Air Force photo

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. – An AC-130H Spectre gunship named "Wicked Wanda" flew her last flight Dec. 19 and is scheduled to officially retire in 2015. The gunship, Tail Number 6575, has deployed in nearly every conflict the U.S. has been involved in, officially and unofficially, since the end of the Vietnam War. Eventually the plane, which has served for 43 years, will be displayed in the Hurlburt Field Air Park. (Source: 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs, 12/23/14)

AF range study under way

WASHINGTON — The Air Force has launched a major study into the future of its test ranges, one that could decide how the service runs its live-flight testing for the next 20 years. Steven Pennington, director of Bases, Ranges, and Airspace for the Air Force, said the focus is finding how much operational infrastructure is needed to enable current and future readiness. Pennington made clear that big ranges, such as Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and Eglin Air Force Bases, Fla., won't be going anywhere as they remain vital for composite force training and testing of high-tech jets such as the F-35. Part of the need for the new infrastructure is the increasingly advanced technology being fielded by the service, and the real indicator has been the F-35. That jet challenges the traditional ranges in a way other jets have not. Earlier combat aircraft were not that much different, "but we've seen a leap of magnitude in the capability of 5th gen, and our ranges have to make the same leap," he said. (Source: Defense News, 12/23/14) Eglin is home of the F-35 integrated training center, where pilots and maintainers from all three branches and foreign partners are trained.

Larger Fire Scout gets sea legs

MQ-8C prepares to land on destroyer.
Northrop Grumman photo

NORFOLK, Va. -- The U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman successfully flew the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter for the first time off the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) last week off. After more than a year of land-based testing at Point Mugu, Calif., the MQ-8C performed 22 takeoffs and 22 landings while being controlled from the ship's ground control station. (Source: PRNewswire, 12/23/14) The MQ-8C, which uses a Bell 407 airframe, is a larger version of the battle-tested MQ-8B Fire Scout, which uses a Schweizer helicopter airframe. The B variant has tested aboard ships on numerous occasions. Final assembly for both variants is done by Northrop Grumman in Moss Point, Miss.

F-35 deliveries target met

Lockheed Martin met its 2014 target by delivering 36 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to the U.S. military, paving the way to collecting most performance fees. The U.S. accepted the last of the 36 jets Monday, the first carrier-variant built for the Marine Corps. Lockheed Martin has delivered 109 operational F-35s to the U.S. and partner-nations since 2001. Lockheed is building three variants of the jet for the Pentagon. Eight other countries that helped fund its development are Canada, Britain, Australia, Italy, Turkey, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark. Israel, South Korea and Japan have also placed orders. (Source: Reuters, 12/22/14) The first Marine F-35C will be assigned to the Navy's VFA-101 "Grim Reapers" squadron of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to be used for F-35C maintenance and pilot training at Eglin. (Source: Global Aviation Report, 12/23/14)

Contract: UTC, $270.5M

United Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney, East Hartford, Conn., has been awarded a not-to-exceed $270,542,568 modification (P00128) to previously awarded contract FA8611-08-C-2896 for F119 engine sustainment. Work will be performed at East Hartford; Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; Langley Air Force Base, Va.; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas; Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.; and Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2015. Fiscal 2015 procurement; fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance; fiscal 2015 Air National Guard; and fiscal 2015 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $88,535,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/22/14)

Contract: Raytheon Missile, $21.9M

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., has been awarded a $21,900,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for advanced medium range air to air missile (AMRAAM) technical support. Contractor will provide technical services and analysis supporting the AMRAAM weapon system. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2014 missile procurement funds in the amount of $847,230 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8675-15-D-0019). (Source: DoD, 12/22/14)

Contract: Raytheon, $491.5M

Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., has been awarded a $491,478,068 fixed-price incentive firm type contract for Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) production Lot 28. Contractor will provide AMRAAM missiles and other AMRAAM system items. The AMRAAM system includes the missile, captive air training missile, common munitions bit/reprogramming equipment, and non-developmental item airborne instrumentation unit. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2017. This contract involves foreign military sales to Korea, Oman, Singapore, and Thailand. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2014 Air Force and Navy production funds in the amount of $278,874,197 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8675-15-C-0022). (Source: DoD, 12/22/14)

First A350 XWB delivered

Rolls-Royce joined Airbus and Qatar Airways today in celebrating delivery of the first Airbus A350 XWB to enter service. The jetliner is powered by Trent XWB engines, the sole power plant available for the A350 XWB. More than 1,500 engines have already been sold to 40 customers. Sales of the Trent XWB account for over half of the Rolls-Royce civil aerospace order book. (Sources: Rolls-Royce, Airbus, 12/22/14) Gulf Coast note: Trent engines, including the XWB, are tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Pratt neo engine certified

Pratt and Whitney's engine for the Airbus A320neo family of jetliners has won certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. The certification is a milestone for the engine and the A320neo, scheduled to enter service in the 2015 fourth quarter. Pratt and Whitney's engine powered the A320neo when it took its maiden test flight in September. Pratt is a unit of United Technologies Corp. Airbus has listed more than 3,300 orders for the A320neo family as of November, according to the company's website. (Source: Reuters, 12/19/14) Gulf Coast note: The company's newest A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., will open in 2015. Previous

UTC recognized by DLA

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – United Technologies Corp. Aerospace Systems was recognized as a Gold Tier supplier for the Defense Department's Defense Logistics Agency as part of DoD's Superior Supplier Incentive Program. UTC Aerospace Systems currently has spare parts contracts with the DLA that span across all of UTC Aerospace Systems' segments, including actuation and propeller systems, nacelle systems, air management systems, electric systems, ejection seats, sensing systems, landing gear, engine systems, sensor systems, and wheels and brakes. (Source: United Technologies, 12/22/14) Gulf Coast note: UTC's Aerospace System's aerostructures business unit at Foley, Ala., designs, builds and supports nacelle systems for commercial and military aircraft. The Foley site houses original equipment work as well as the Alabama Service Center, a maintenance, repair and overhaul site for nacelle components.

Contract: UTC, $47.2M

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $47,208,684 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to the previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm target contract N00019-13-C-0016. This modification is for sustainment efforts and operations and maintenance services in support of Low Rate Initial Production Lot VIII F135 propulsion systems, including repair of repairables and replenishment spares. Work will be performed in Hartford (50 percent); Indianapolis, Ind. (36 percent); and Oklahoma City, Okla. (14 percent); and is expected to be completed in November 2015. Fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance funds (Navy, Air Force) and international partner funds in the amount of $10,911,399 will be obligated at the time of award, $6,720,832 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchase for the U.S. Air Force (29 percent); the U.S. Navy (62 percent); and the international partners (9 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/19/14)

Dutch commit to 1st operational F-35

The Netherlands said this week that it will sign a contract in April 2015 for an initial eight Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters. In total the Netherlands is planning to buy 37 F-35s, with the first of the eight initial aircraft expected to enter service in 2019. Full operational capability is expected to be attained in 2024 with all aircraft delivered. According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the intended contract will stay within the stated total budget of $5.6 billion. (Source: IHS Jane's 360, 12/17/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: Utilis, $200M

 Utilis USA, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., has been awarded a maximum $200,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contract for commercial shelters. This contract was a competitive acquisition and 20 offers were received. This is a one-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is Florida with a Dec. 16, 2015, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa. (SPE1C1-15-D-1018). (Source: DoD, 12/17/14)

Contract: Lockheed, $34.9M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $34,893,266 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-15-C-0031) for modification management of deployable spares packages for F-35 Low Rate Initial Production Lot VI aircraft. In addition, this contract provides for unit level augmentation and delivery of technical, administrative, and associated financial data. This modification combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force (46 percent); the U.S. Marine Corps (39 percent); the U.S. Navy (8.6 percent) and the international partners (6.4 percent). Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (50 percent); Ogden, Utah (16 percent), Burton, S.C. (13 percent), Yuma, Ariz. (5 percent); Havelock, N.C. (5 percent); Rosamond, Calif. (4 percent); Valparaiso, Fla. (4 percent); Glendale, Ariz. (2 percent); and Las Vegas, Nev. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2016. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/17/14)

A-3 stand back in headlines

Nearly a year after Bloomberg News reported that the $350 million A-3 test stand at Stennis Space Center, Miss., would be completed then mothballed, the Washington Post and ABC News revisited the issue. The Post used the 300-foot tall tower as an example of NASA's "drift," or what happens when the federal agency has no clear-cut goal. In January 2014, Bloomberg wrote that Congress ordered NASA to complete the stand even though it no longer needs it. At that time, $292 million had been spent and another $57 million was needed to complete it. It was designed to test the J-2X engine's performance at high altitudes. But the testing requirement ended when the Constellation program was killed in 2010. But backers, including Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., point out that it might still be used under a new administration or by private companies that are planning missions beyond supplying the International Space Station. (Sources: ABC News, 12/16/14, Washington Post, 12/15/14, Bloomberg News, 01/08/14)

Contract: Northrop, $657.4M

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, Calif., has been awarded a $657,400,000 hybrid contract including firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee undefinitized contract action for aircraft for the Republic of Korea. Contractor will provide four RQ-4B Block 30 Global Hawk air vehicles, two spare engines, and the applicable Ground Control Environment elements. Each will contain an Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite. Work will be performed at San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be complete by June 28, 2019. This contract involves foreign military sales. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-15-C-3001). Gulf Coast note: Center fuselage work on Global Hawks is done in Moss Point, Miss.

Titanium airline seats available

Three Frenchmen have created a titanium seat that could save airlines millions and cram more seats into jetliners. The seat, which consists of 30 parts and is pre-reclined by 18 degrees, is designed for use in the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family of aircraft. Saving fuel is a key concern for airliners, and some have switched to lighter, thinner seats made by Germany's Recaro. But Benjamin Saada, Jean-Charles Samuelian, and Vincent Tejedor created Expliseat in 2011 and have now started selling it. Made from titanium and composites, it's 8.8 pounds, three times lighter than the Recaro seat. (Source: Business Insider, 12/15/14) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., that will open in 2015.

1st SOW getting new leader

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Col. William West, commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing and the installation commander at Hurlburt, will hand over command of the wing to Col. Sean Farrell, current commander of the 27th Special Operations Group at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. The change of command is Jan. 6. West assumed command of the 1st SOW in July 2013. Farrell, born at Eglin Air Force Base, is a command pilot with more than 3,200 hours in the C-130E and AC-130H. He’s flown combat missions in Afghanistan and Bosnia. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 12/15/14)

Trent engines chosen

Rolls-Royce has been selected by AirAsia X to power 10 Airbus A330ceo and 55 Airbus A330neo aircraft with engines and support worth $6.2 billion. The A330ceos will be powered by the Trent 700 and the A330neos will be powered by the Trent 7000 engine. In July this year, Rolls-Royce welcomed an initial AirAsia X decision to select 50 A330neo aircraft. The airline had previously ordered 25 A330ceos, powered by another provider, and this has now been altered to 10 aircraft, powered by the Trent 700. It's the largest order for the Trent 7000 engine since it was launched earlier this year. (Source: Rolls-Royce, 12/15/14) Gulf Coast note: Trent engines are tested at the Rolls-Royce outdoor test facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Contract: Lockheed, $169.3M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $169,335,580 modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract (N00019-12-C-0004) to provide Depot Phase I-IV services to support Low Rate Initial Production Lot VII F-35 aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and international partners. Work will be performed in East Aurora, N.Y. (24 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (20 percent); Nashua, N.H. (17.4 percent); Torrance, Calif. (9 percent); Samlesbury, U.K. (6.5 percent); Irvine, Calif. (6.2 percent); Cheltenham, U.K. (3.7 percent); North Amityville, N.Y. (3.7 percent); Palmdale, Calif. (3.6 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3.4 percent); Orlando, Fla. (1.7 percent); and Grand Rapids, Mich. (0.8 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2018. Fiscal 2013 aircraft procurement funds (Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy) and international partner funds in the amount of $169,335,580 will be obligated at time of award, of which $159,476,476 will expire this fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force (47 percent), the U.S. Navy (33 percent); U.S. Marine Corps (14 percent); and international partners (6 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/12/14)

Whiting Field sets command change

NAVAL AIR STATION WHITING FIELD, Fla. – Capt. Todd Bahlau will take the reins Dec. 17 as Naval Air Station Whiting Field's 41st commanding officer. He takes over from Capt. Matthew Coughlin during a change of command ceremony. Bahlau, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and aviator, comes to Northwest Florida from duty with the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. Coughlin, who served for three years as Whiting Field command, is retiring after 27 years of service. Commander Navy Region Southeast Rear Adm. Mary Jackson will be the guest speaker at the 10 a.m. ceremony. (Source; NAS Whiting Field, 12/12/14)

Canada report sees no F-35 edge

OTTAWA - The Lockheed Martin F-35 has no clear edge over three other jet fighters Canada is considering to replace its aging fleet, a declassified government report says. The F-35, Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale and Boeing Super Hornet are all able of accomplish missions envisioned by Canadian military leaders. The only exception would be going to war with another state, but the report's authors concluded that unlikely. A purchase decision is not expected until after next year's general election. Canada is one of the original nine partner nation in the F-35 program and for now still intends to buy 65 F-35s beginning in 2020. (Sources: AFP via Yahoo, Flightglobal, 12/11/2014) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Norway F-35 fuselage completed

Palmdale technicians inspect center fuselage
Northrop Grumman photo

PALMDALE, Calif. – Northrop Grumman earlier this month completed the center fuselage for the first F-35 to be ordered by Norway, a conventional takeoff and landing variant designated AM-1. As a principal member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team, Northrop Grumman designed and produces the center fuselage for all three F-35 variants. The AM-1 center fuselage is the first of 52 fuselages Northrop Grumman will produce for Norway. It is the 166th center fuselage that the company has produced at its Palmdale site. Lockheed Martin will perform final assembly and checkout of the Norwegian F-35s in Fort Worth, Texas. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 12/10/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Coast Guard saves man on raft

NEW ORLEANS – A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and aircrew rescued a man from a life raft 30 miles south of Venice, La., Wednesday. A crewman aboard the vessel Harvey Pacer notified CG Sector New Orleans after receiving a Mayday from the sailing vessel Amsheet, which reported it struck an unknown object and was taking on water and that the owner was in a life raft. There were no reported injuries. (Source: U.S. Coast Guard, 12/10/14)

Contract: Reliable, $8.4M

Reliable Contracting Group LLC, Louisville, Ky., was awarded a $8,417,693 firm-fixed-price contract with options for replacing the fuel pipeline at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., with an estimated completion date of March 21, 2014. Bids were solicited via the Internet with five received. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $8,417,693 are being obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-15-C-0005). (Source: DoD, 12/11/14)

Italy, Turkey to service F-35s

Italy and Turkey were chosen by the Pentagon to provide initial heavy maintenance of F-35 fighter jets in Europe starting in 2018. That paves the way for billions of dollars of work by companies in those countries, and several others in coming years, as the new stealth warplane starts operating around the world. Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, who runs the F-35 program for the Defense Department, said the countries involved would release details about which companies would do the work. Italy will provide initial heavy maintenance, with Britain providing backup airframe maintenance. Heavy maintenance on the F135 engine will be done in Turkey, but Norway and the Netherlands will also set up sites in a few years. (Source: Reuters, Lockheed Martin, 12/11/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: Lockheed, $12.5M

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., has been awarded a $12,463,696 modification (P00649) to previously awarded contract F04701-02-C-0002 for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency system. Contractor will provide protected key management architecture (KMA) for installation, integration and factory test of the replacement KMA system with the existing AEHF control and space segments. Work will be performed at Sunnyvale; Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.; and Valley Forge, Pa., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2017. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,979,384 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/10/14) Gulf Coast note: Lockheed Martin does a portion of the work on the AEHF system at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Contract: Composite Eng., $72.4M

Composite Engineering Inc., Sacramento, Calif., has been awarded a $72,367,482 firm-fixed-price contract for Air Force Subscale Aerial Target Lots 11-13 production. Contractor will produce the AFSAT BQM-167A that will be used by the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group to test and evaluate air-to-air and surface-to-air weapons systems. Work will be performed at Sacramento and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2017. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 Department of Defense procurement funds in the amount of $24,309,430 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8678-15-C-0069). (Source: DoD, 12/10/14)

Pentagon spending bill OK'd

The House and Senate have agreed to provide $554.2 billion in funding for the military in fiscal 2015. The funding includes money for additional F-35A and F-35C Joint Strike Fighters. The bill includes $224 million for two additional F-35A fighters for the U.S. Air Force and $255 million for two additional Navy F-35Cs. The measure funds a total of 38 F-35 fighters, nine more than in FY-14. (Source: Reuters, 12/10/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Italy-built F-35 rollout in March

Italy is preparing for the rollout of its first F-35A from the final assembly and checkout facility at Cameri Air Base in northern Italy. The first aircraft is scheduled to come off the line by March 2015. Italy invested about $1 billion in building the facility, which began operations last year. The original plan called for about 250 planes, 113 for Italy and 85 for the Netherlands, to be built at the plant. But the final number is up in the air. The facility, however, has been built with expansion in mind. Cameri is also the site of Italy’s hub for Eurofighter Typhoon and Tornado work. (Source: Aviation Week, 12/10/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Visit highlights French investments

MOBILE, Ala. -- Denis Barbet, France's Atlanta-based Consul General to the Southeast, will visit Mobile this week. Barbet in a statement said that with recent investments by companies like Airbus and Safran, it's likely there will be an increase in the French presence in Alabama and Mobile in coming years. Barbet's visit will be hosted by business leaders from the region, including the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, which will host an event to spotlight France's existing investments, including chemical maker Arkema and Technip, which makes products for the oil and gas industry. Barbet also will tour the $600 million Airbus A320 final assembly line that will open in the fall of 2015, and the Port of Mobile. (Source: al.com, 12/09/14)

AVCON paving new ground

NICEVILLE, Fla. -- A new FAA-approved asphalt that's proven to be more durable, stronger and fuel resistant than what's currrently in use is making some inroads at airports. But officials from AVCON say it will take more time to overcome skepticism about P-601. Feature story. (Source: GCRL Newsletter, 12/09/14)

Small company with a big task

CANTONMENT, Fla. -- Marianna Airmotive's forte of overhaul, fabrication and remanufacturing help keep one of the military's key assets airborne. But the company's leaders also hope to grow the Cantonment operation's portfolio beyond the C-5. Feature story. (Source: GCRL Newsletter, 12/09/14)

Mobile company defining its niche

MOBILE, Ala. -- With a corporate history going back more than 100 years and highlights that include being a key supplier during World War II, Continental Motors has been a fixture in Mobile for a long time. Now under the ownership of Chinese aerospace giant AVIC, the company is on a path of growth. Feature story. (Source: GCRL Newsletter, 12/09/14)

The one that's knocking

CARRABELLE, Fla. -- Aerospace recruiting seldom tops the to-do list for Northwest Florida's non-metropolitan, smaller counties. But the Airbus plant being built in Mobile, Ala., provides an intense spotlight on the Gulf Coast region, and unique opportunity for the less populated counties to show off on a world stage. A feature story. (Source: GCRL Newsletter, 12/09/14)

Blue Angels release schedules

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration team announced updates to its 2015 air show season and released its 2016 schedule. The team will perform 65 shows at 35 locations in 2015, and 69 shows at 36 locations in 2016. The schedules including two shows in Pensacola each year, one on the beach in the summer and the other the homecoming at Naval Air Station Pensacola. (Source: Blue Angels, 12/09/14)

Presidential plane makes Eglin stop

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Boeing 747 aircraft that’s known as Air Force One when it’s carrying the president spent a portion of the weekend at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., undergoing recertification testing, according to Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Lois Walsh. The plane, assigned to the Presidential Airlift Group at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., arrived Friday and left Sunday. The plane recently completed a year-long maintenance cycle and is being tested before its return to service. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 12/08/14)

Airport eyeing name change

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – Northwest Florida Regional Airport is considering changing its name to Destin-Fort Walton Beach International Airport. The Department of Airports plans to ask Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners to consider the name change during a January meeting. The new name was suggested by Market Dynamics Research Group of New Orleans, on grounds the current name is too generic. The airport is located at Eglin Air Force Base. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 12/08/14)

Fire Scout work intensifies

WASHINGTON – A new level of activity is taking place with the Navy's Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, according to Defense News. For the first time, Fire Scouts will be at sea on four ships at the same time. Two East Coast-based frigates are deployed, each with four MQ-8B models. The LCS Forth Worth recently left San Diego for a planned 16-month deployment with a hybrid aviation detachment of one MQ-8B and one MH-60R Seahawk manned helicopter. Early this month the California-based Coast Guard National Security Cutter Bertholf got underway carrying two Fire Scouts, a first for an NSC. There are two variants of Fire Scout: the B model uses a Schweizer 333 airframe, and the much larger C model uses a Bell 407. Procurement of the B model has ended, with a total of seven test and 23 operational aircraft delivered by Northrop Grumman. Seven of those aircraft have been lost in accidents or stricken. Two Fire Scouts were damaged in October at Wallops Island, Va., when their hangar was damaged in the explosion of an Antares rocket. One of those already has been repaired and is deployed aboard Bertholf. The other is being repaired. (Source: Defense News, 12/06/14) Gulf Coast note: Final assembly of Fire Scouts is done in Moss Point, Miss.; Bertholf was built in Pascagoula, Miss.; LCS Independence class ships are built in Mobile, Ala.

Site first to get certification

VentureCrossings in Bay County, Fla., is the first industrial site to complete Gulf Power's "Florida First Sites" program. Fourteen sites were initially submitted, and nine are still working towards certification. Most expect to be certified by the end of February. St. Joe Co. owns VentureCrossings Enterprise Centre, adjacent to Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. The site has proper zoning, service to utilities and met numerous other qualifications that make it ready for development. St. Joe, Gulf Power and local, regional and state economic development agencies will now work to market the site to prospective companies. (Source: Gulf Power, 12/05/14) Background: 6,200 acres seek shovel-ready status, December 2013 newsletter)

Contract: Speegle, $7.7M

Speegle Construction, Inc., Niceville, Fla., was awarded a $7,740,000 firm-fixed-price contract, with options, to construct a satellite dining facility. Work will be performed at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., with an estimated completion date of May 8, 2016. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with seven received. Fiscal 2011, 2014 and 2015 military construction funds in the amount of $7,740,000 are being obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, Albuquerque, N.M., is the contracting activity (W912PP-15-C-0001). (Source: DoD, 12/05/14)

NASA's Orion test a success

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's unmanned Orion space capsule, designed to eventually carry astronauts into deep space, had a picture-perfect spashdown  in the Pacific Ocean today at the end of its first test flight. After two laps of Earth, Orion plunged through the atmosphere at 20,000 mph, enveloped in a fireball that scorched its heat shield. The capsule emerged intact from its 3,600-mile fall and deployed three orange-and-white parachutes to brake its speed to 20 mph as it hit the water at 11:29 a.m. EST, 270 miles west of Baja California. (Sources: multiple, including USA Today, NBC News, 12/05/14) Gulf Coast note: Lockheed Martin built the capsule at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans; the Delta IV, built in Decatur, Ala., is powered by RS-68 engines tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

33rd gets simulation award

Academic Training Center simulator
Air Force photo 

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The National Training and Simulation Association selected the F-35 Lightning II Training System for the 2014 Modeling and Simulation Award. The award recognizes the 33rd Fighter Wing, the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin for delivering an effective, immersive training experience for F-35 pilots and maintainers. The F-35 team is one of six winners, across industry and defense, honored for advancing modeling and simulation technologies. The 33rd at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., was re-designated under the Air Education and Training Command on Oct. 1, 2009, to establish the F-35 training mission. The pilot and maintainer qualifications are accomplished in part through simulations to ensure efficient mission readiness. As the first of its kind in the Department of Defense, the wing is responsible for F-35 pilot and maintainer training for DoD and, in the future, at least eight coalition partners. Recently, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., also established an F-35A training mission. To date, more than 140 pilots and 1,500 maintainers from the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have graduated from the 33 FW's F-35 Integrated Training Center. (Source: 33rd Wing Public Affairs, 12/03/14)

ONR awarded for F-35 innovation

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Office of Naval Research received one of the nation's top manufacturing awards for an innovative, cost-saving method for making advanced cockpit canopies, for the F-35 program. Officials from ONR's Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program accepted the Department of Defense's Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award at the Defense Manufacturing Conference in San Antonio. The automated process will be used to make canopies for more than 2,000 aircraft, saving nearly $125 million over the life of the F-35 program.(Source: NNS, 12/03/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center; ONR's Naval Research Laboratory has a detachment at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Finnair getting more XWBs

Finnair has firmed up an order for eight further Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, a decision that means additional Trent XWB engine business worth $450 million at list prices. The aircraft are in addition to 11 Airbus A350 XWBs that the airline already has on order, powered by the same engine. Finnair was the first airline to select the A350 XWB and will be the first European airline to receive the aircraft. The Trent XWB is the fastest-selling widebody engine ever with more than 1,500 engines already sold. It will power the first A350 XWB into service later this year. (Sources: Rolls-Royce, Airbus, 12/03/14) Gulf Coast note: XWB engines are tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Contract: Lockheed, $97.8M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $97,832,182 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-13-C-0008) for a financial arrangement implementing a Foreign Military Sales Letter of Offer for the government of Israel in support of the F-35 program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and expected to be completed in December 2022. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $30,296,783 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting authority. (Source: DoD, 12/02/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

SSC research helps MRI, fuel-cells

Could NASA research at Stennis Space Center help hospital MRI machines and fuel-cell cars of the future? Perhaps. Engineers are testing an innovative technology that could yield new sources of both expensive helium gas required for cooling MRI machines and purified, high-pressure hydrogen gas, the fuel for fuel-cells. SSC, which tests rocket engines in South Mississippi, produces a large quantity of hydrogen and helium gas mixture in its rocket tests which right now is just burned or vented into the air. But using Sustainable Innovations' electrochemical Hydrogen Recovery System (HRS), NASA will be able to extract hydrogen from rocket fuel line purge gas, leaving behind high-value helium, a purified stream compressed to commercial storage pressure. And with helium's price only expected to rise as global supplies plateau, the helium extraction technology will become more and more valuable to NASA in the coming years and provide a possible revenue stream. Sustainable Innovations, of East Hartford, Conn., developed HRS for NASA under a Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer program. The same technology on which HRS is based will also be useful for separating hydrogen from CO2 and CO in the life support technologies now being tested and developed for its manned spaceflight missions. (Source: PRNews, 12/02/14)

Orion set to launch Thursday

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA will launch an unmanned Orion space capsule Thursday, weather permitting, on two orbits of Earth in the first space test of the deep-space vehicle. The vehicle will be launched by a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket, which is substituting for the still-being-developed NASA Space Launch System. The flight, which will take the capsule 3,600 miles out into space, will splash down some four hours later in the Pacific off the California and Mexico’s Baja coast. Orion will be recovered by Navy ships. (Sources: multiple, including al.com, Fox News, 12/02/14) Gulf Coast note: Lockheed Martin built the capsule at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans; the Delta IV, built in Decatur, Ala., is powered by RS-68 engines tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.