$6.7M granted to improve runway

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has been awarded a grant of $6,727,759 for the Trent Lott International Airport Runway Improvements project. It's part of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act), which provides funding for Gulf Coast states affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. MDEQ will subaward the project to the Jackson County Airport Authority to support engineering and design, surveying, permitting, and construction. The improvements will allow the airport to accommodate medium and large cargo planes used by local industries. "Trent Lott International Airport already is home to world class manufacturing at Northrop Grumman’s manned and unmanned systems facility," said George Freeland, executive director of the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation, "but Jackson County remains focused on strategic improvements that position this community for continued growth in the aviation sector.” (Source: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, 08/30/19) The airport is in Moss Point, Miss.

Contract: PRIDE, $17.4M

PRIDE Industries, Roseville, Calif., was awarded a $17,421,355 modification (P00015) to contract W9124G-18-C-0005 for base operation support. Work will be performed in Fort Rucker, Ala., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $2,877,369 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Rucker, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/29/19)

McClellan to chair airport group

Parker McClellan Jr., Executive Director of Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), has been elected Chairman of the Florida Airports Council (FAC) – the official association of the publicly-owned and operated airports in Florida – effective October 1, 2019. McClellan will be transitioning from his previous position on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors as Vice Chairman and will serve as Chairman for one year. The Council is composed of members representing all 20 Florida commercial service airports and 79 of the state’s general aviation airports, one Spaceport (Cecil Airport) and more than 250 corporate, educational, affiliate, student chapters and student members. McClellan will continue in his role at ECP. (Source: Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, 08/28/19)

Contract: Lockheed, $25.3M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $25,252,703 for modification P00052 to previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-firm, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00019-16-C-0004. This modification is for an F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter regional maintenance repair and upgrade facility for the Government of Japan under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in Nagoya, Japan (65%); Ft Worth, Texas (26%); Greenville, S.C. (7%); Orlando, Fla. (2%); and El Segundo, Calif. (1%), and is expected to be completed no later than September 2022. FMS funds in the amount of $25,252,703 will be 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 activity. (Source: DoD, 08/27/19) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: PAE Aviation, $19.2M

PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Marlton, N.J., has been awarded a $19,156,738 modification to previously awarded contract FA4890-15-C0018 for the Aerial Targets Program. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional year of service under the multiple year contract, which directly supports live-fire weapons system testing and enables the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group to perform developmental and operational weapons testing for all air-to-air missiles for the F-15, F-16, F-22, and F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.; and Holloman AFB, N.M., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds are being used and no funds were obligated at the time of award. The Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Langley Air Force Base, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/26/19)

SLS engine section completed

NEW ORLEANS - NASA and prime contractor Boeing formally signed off on the first assembly of the most complicated element of the space agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. After a review of data from two months of functional testing at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, the engine section element of the first SLS Core Stage is complete and is now cleared to be mated to the rest of the vehicle. The next step is to move the engine section and boattail to another building, rotate them from vertical to horizontal, and then come back for bolting to the aft end of the stage in the last “major join” in its assembly. Boeing continues to aim to complete the full stage in December and barge it to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for a full, integrated checkout and acceptance firing as part of the Green Run test campaign. (Source: NASAspaceflight, 08/25/19)

Contract: Lockheed, $2.4B

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $2,426,326,544 for modification P00002 to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00019-19-D-0015 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter initial spares for the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participants, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Spares to be procured include global spares packages, base spares packages, deployment spares packages, afloat spares packages and associated consumables. Work will be performed in Fort Worth (24.4%); El Segundo, Calif. (9.1%); Owego, N.Y. (8.6%); Samlesbury, United Kingdom (7.2%); Cheltenham, United Kingdom (6.2%); Nashua, N.H. (5.8%); Torrance, Calif. (5.5%); Orlando, Fla. (4.9%); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3.7%); San Diego, Calif. (3.6%); Phoenix, Ariz. (3.1%); Melbourne, Fla. (3.1%); Irvine, Calif. (2.5%); North Amityville, N.Y. (2.4%); Windsor Locks, Conn. (2.2%); Baltimore, Md. (2.2%); Papendrect, The Netherlands (1.9%); Rolling Meadows, Ill. (1.8%); and Alpharetta, Ga. (1.8%). All orders are expected to be placed no later than December 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award, funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/23/19) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Firms ranked for MRO project

PENSACOLA, Fla. - A city selection committee has ranked four firms that could oversee building the $210 million expansion of the ST Engineering maintenance, repair and overhaul campus at Pensacola International Airport. The No. 1 company was Birmingham, Ala.-based Brasfield and Gorrie partnering with local Greenhut Construction Co. Greenhut was the construction manager on the first $46 million ST Engineering hangar that opened in 2018. The other companies were the Haskell Co. partnering with Hewes and Co., Caddell Construction Co. partnering with Whitesell-Green Inc. and Hensel Phelps Construction Co. The mayor will review the committee rankings and authorize the city to negotiate a contract. Once negotiated, it will go to the City Council for approval. The company selected will build the next aircraft maintenance hangar, Hangar 2, but the same company could be in charge of the entire project if everything goes well on during construction of Hangar 2. The project will allow ST Engineering to expand it aircraft maintenance operations at the airport and create more than 1,300 jobs. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 08/22/19) Previous

Northrop increasing UAV production

Northrop Grumman plans to more than double production capacity for the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to 12 aircraft per year in anticipation of growing demand for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. The manufacturer is adding production capacity to its Site 7 facilities in Palmdale, Calif. It will start production out of a recently remodeled building the week of Aug. 26, the company told FlightGlobal on a tour of the facilities on Aug. 20. The building is on the grounds of United States Air Force Plant 42 and was previously a manufacturing facility for the Northrop F-5 fighter. Northrop Grumman has lined up six customers for variants of its high altitude long endurance UAV: The U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force (USAF), NATO, South Korea, Japan and the Royal Australian Air Force. The company previously produced between three to five RQ-4 Global Hawk or MQ-4C Triton aircraft per year. Typically it takes 162 to 174 days to build the UAV: 150 days to build the fuselage in Moss Point, Miss. and 12 to 24 days for final assembly in Palmdale, the firm says. (Source: FlightGlobal, 08/22/19)

200th Lakota for Army training

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Airbus Helicopters delivered on Aug. 19 the 200th UH-72A Lakota for training with the Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Ala. Airbus Helicopters has built more than 550 aircraft for the U.S. government since 2006. The UH-72A Lakota is a derivative of the EC145 twin-engine rotorcraft, and is operated by U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and other various military units worldwide. To date, the Lakota fleet has amassed more than 600,000 flight hours. (Sources: Vertical Magazine, The Dispatch, 08/20/19)

Contract: BAE, $75M

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Nashua, N.H., is awarded a $74,990,530 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to procure 1,440 Radio Frequency Countermeasures and the maintenance and repair of multi-function test stations in support of the F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed in Nashua (74%); Landenberg, Pa. (7%); Topsfield, Mass. (2.5%); Industry, Calif. (1.6%); Hamilton, N.J. (1.5%); Carson, Calif. (1.3%); Dover, N.H. (1.1%); Londonderry, N.H. (1%); Chartley, Mass. (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (9%), and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force); fiscal 2019 procurement ammunition (Navy, Marine Corps); and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $74,990,530 will be obligated at time of award, $2,394,867 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force ($37,068,372; 49%); Navy and Marine Corps ($13,556,992; 18%); and FMS countries ($24,365,166; 33%). This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-19-C-0001). (Source: DoD, 08/20/19)

Contract: Sikorsky, $48.3M

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Conn., is awarded $48,325,008 for firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee order N00019-19-F-4126 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-19-G-0029) to procure spare parts to repair and maintain CH-53K low-rate initial production Lot Three configuration aircraft. Work will be performed in Quebec, Canada (14.88%); Stratford (9.17%); Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (2.32%); Rome, N.Y. (2.06%); Bridgeport, W.V. (2.02%); Chesterfield, Mo. (1.52%); Forest, Ohio (1.47%); Davenport, Iowa (1.38%); Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom (1.36%); Milford, Conn. (1.22%); Windsor Locks, Conn. (1.13%); various locations within the continental U.S. (53.97%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (7.50%), and is expected to be completed in August 2024. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $48,325,008 will be 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 activity. (Source: DoD, 08/20/19)

ULA chosen for Dream Chaser

Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) selected United Launch Alliance (ULA) as the launch vehicle provider for the Dream Chaser spacecraft's six NASA missions to the International Space Station. The Dream Chaser will launch aboard ULA's Vulcan Centaur rockets for its cargo resupply and return services to the space station, starting in 2021. "SNC selected ULA because of our strong collaboration on the Dream Chaser program, their proven safety record and on-time performance," said SNC CEO Fatih Ozmen. Under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract, the Dream Chaser will deliver more than 12,000 pounds of pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the space station and remain attached for up to 75 days as an orbiting laboratory. Once the mated mission is complete, the Dream Chaser disposes about 7,000 pounds of space station trash and returns large quantities of critical science, accessible within minutes after a gentle runway landing. "This is one of the first contracts for our new Vulcan Centaur rocket, and the first of the six missions will serve as the rocket's second certification flight," said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. Vulcan Centaur is a new class of space launch vehicle with the performance of a heavy launch vehicle in just a single core. (Source: SpaceDaily, 08/19/19) ULA in 2018 chose Blue Origin's BE-4 engine to power Vulcan. In 2014 ULA announced it was partnering with Blue Origin to partially fund the BE-4 development. Gulf Coast note: BE-4 components have been tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Dream Chaser work has been done at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Contract: Lockheed, $32.1M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $32,111,547 for modification P00005 to delivery order N00019-19-F-2512 under previously issued against basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This award procures modification kits and special tooling for modification and retrofit of delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth and is expected to be completed in June 2025. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy); non-DoD partners; and FMS funds in the amount of $32,111,547 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($16,510,522; 51%); Marine Corps ($7,693,130; 24%); Navy ($275,849; 1%); non-DoD participants ($4,698,676; 15%); and FMS customers ($2,933,370; 9%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/19/19)

Contract: Lockheed, $12M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $12,031,145 for modification P00001 to delivery order 5503 under previously issued against basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This award procures modification kits for modification and retrofit of delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters for the Air Force and Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Fort Worth and is expected to be completed in December 2021. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force and Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $12,031,145 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($6,927,023; 58%); and the Marine Corps ($5,104,122; 42%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/19/19)

Two Blue Angels touch mid-air

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Two Blue Angel jets touched mid-air during a practice at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the Navy said Thursday. It happened Wednesday. "The No. 3 canopy made momentary contact with the underside of No. 1's outer wing during the Diamond 360 maneuver," said Lt. Michelle Tucker, spokeswoman for Rear Adm. Daniel Dwyer, chief of naval air training. She said there were no injuries. Capt. Eric Doyle, the Blue Angel's commanding officer who flies the No. 1 jet, called a safety stand down after the planes made contact. An initial damage assessment of the aircraft found a "minimal scratch" on the No. 3 canopy, Tucker said. The incident will not affect the team's scheduled performance in Chicago this weekend, she said. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 08/15/19)

Contract: Lord & Son, $32.1M

Lord & Son Construction Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $32,128,489 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a Long-Range Stand-Off Acquisition Facility on Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Eglin Air Force Base with an estimated completion date of Aug. 14, 2021. Fiscal 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $21,128,489 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-19-C-0023). (Source: DoD, 08/15/19)

Contract: Lockheed, $99M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Fla., has been awarded a $99,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) foreign military sales production support. This contract will provide for lifecycle support for all efforts related to JASSM and any JASSM variants in the areas of system upgrades, integration, production, sustainment, management and logistical support. Work will be performed at Orlando and is expected to be completed by August 2024. This contract involves foreign military sales to Finland, Poland and Australia. This award is the result of sole-source acquisition. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8682-19-D-0003). (Source: DoD, 08/13/19)

Administrator to visit MAF

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will visit NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans on Aug. 15, where the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) is built. He will meet with members of the SLS team, which is preparing to add the final section to the core stage that will be used for the first SLS launch (Artemis-1), an uncrewed test flight of the rocket and an Orion capsule. Assembly of the core stage, the largest and most complex stage NASA ever has built, remains on schedule for completion before the end of the year. Comprised of two liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines, it will produce more than two million pounds of thrust. (Sources: Spacepolicyonline, 08/10/19, Spaceref, 08/08/19)

Foam test at Tyndall

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Battelle, a nonprofit research and development organization, will conduct laboratory and field tests of firefighting foam at the Air Force Civil Engineering Center on Tyndall Air Force Base. Firefighting foam used by the military contained PFAS, chemicals that have “since been linked to health issues like cancer,” a news release stated. PFAS use has since been phased out. Available foams could be modified to meet military standards, according to the release. Battelle was awarded a contract as part of the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program. The project is part of the environmental research initiative by the Department of Defense. Battelle also will work with the Navy and Army to determine if the foams meet military specifications, said Satya Chauhan, Battell principal investigator. (Source: News Herald, 08/10/19)

VT-2 has unique command change

T-6B Texans used in ceremony. Navy photo

NAVAL AIR STATION WHITING FIELD, Fla. – Cmdr. Wesley Barnes, U.S. Navy, relieved Capt. Mark Jackson, U.S. Coast Guard, as the 56th commanding officer of the “Doerbirds,” Training Squadron Two (VT-2) in a unique ceremony today at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, near Milton. In the aerial change of command flying the T-6B Texan aircraft, Jackson handed the reins of the squadron over the aircraft radio to Barnes. Three aircraft, one with Barnes and a second pilot, one with Jackson and another pilot, and one aircraft with the deputy commodore of Training Air Wing Five (TW-5), Col. Jeffrey Pavelko, who acted as the officiating officer, flew in a three-ship formation. During the flight, Barnes stated he was ready to relieve Jackson as commanding officer. Jackson then read his order over the airways, “I stand relieved,” and banked his aircraft out of the formation. As their lead officiating officer, Pavelko acknowledged the turnover in the air. After landing the T-6B aircraft, the officers completed the ceremony in a hangar on the installation with commodore, TW-5, Capt. Doug Rosa presiding. More than a hundred people attended the ceremony. Rosa presented Jackson with a meritorious service medal for his accomplishments leading the squadron. (Source: NAS Whiting Field, 08/09/19)

Contract: Zitec, $25.1M

ZITEC Inc., Niceville, Fla., is awarded a $25,110,110 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides up to 672 alternate mission equipment mobility ready storage systems; two first article units, and 670 production systems for the Navy and Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Niceville and is expected to be completed in August 2025. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $71,969 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business set-aside; three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity (N68335-19-D-0242). (Source: DoD, 08/08/19)

Mobile begins A220 production

Airbus A220 worker in Mobile, Ala. Airbus photo

MOBILE, Ala. – Airbus today officially started manufacturing the A220 in the U.S. The first team of A220 production workers began work at Airbus’ Mobile, Alabama-based production facility following their recent return from on-the-job training in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, where the A220 program and primary final assembly line are located. Airbus is producing the first few aircraft within some current A320 aircraft buildings and newly-built support hangars. The first U.S.-made A220 – an A220-300 destined for Delta Air Lines – is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2020. By the middle of next decade, the facility will produce between 40 and 50 A220 aircraft per year. Airbus announced plans for the addition of A220 manufacturing in Mobile in October 2017. Construction on the main A220 flowline hangar and other support buildings for the new A220 began at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley at the beginning of this year.(Source: Airbus, 08/05/19)

Pilots get ratings for new helo

Test pilots from the 413th Flight Test Squadron at Duke Field, Fla., became the first Air Force pilots to receive a Type rating on the AW-139 helicopter on July 29. Majors Zach Roycroft and Tony Arrington completed the five-week contracted course in New Jersey on the civilian counterpart to the service's new MH-139 helicopter. The aircraft is to replace the UH-1N Huey. “This puts our team one step closer to flight testing the new aircraft when production is completed,” said Roycroft, lead test pilot for the squadron. A Type rating is an FAA qualification for a specific aircraft. As test pilots were training, the 413th FLTS and Air Force Global Strike Command airmen were completing the maintenance technician course on the aircraft. The MH-139 delivery marks the first, in recent history, that the Air Force will receive a rotary wing asset not previously used by another branch of the military. The service plans to buy 84 MH-139 helicopters over the next decade. The first aircraft delivery to Duke Field is scheduled for late November. The 413th FLTS is affiliated with the 96th Test Wing at nearby Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: Eglin Public Affairs, 08/01/19)

Contract: SARAA, $11.5M

South Alabama Regional Airport Authority, Andalusia, Ala., has been awarded a minimum $11,474,983 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for fuel. This was a competitive acquisition with 148 responses received. This is a 44-month contract with one six-month option period. Location of performance is Alabama, with a March 31, 2023, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va. (SPE607-19-D-0112). (Source: DoD, 07/31/19)