Contract: APTIM, $7.9M

APTIM Federal Services LLC, Alexandria, Va., was awarded a $7,874,854 modification (P00008) to contract W912DY-20-F-0164 for recurring maintenance and minor repair of petroleum systems. Work will be performed in Birmingham and Montgomery, Ala.; Avon Park, Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Homestead, Hurlburt Field, Tampa, and Tyndall AFB, Fla.; Biloxi, Columbus, Gulfport, Jackson, and Meridian, Miss.; and Isla Verde, Puerto Rico; with an estimated completion date of March 7, 2023. Fiscal 2022 revolving funds in the amount of $7,874,854 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/25/22)

Latest RS-25 test

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA powered up its third RS-25 engine hot fire test of the new year Feb. 24, on the Fred Haise Test Stand. Operators fired the engine past recent testing at the 111 percent power level up to 113 percent. NASA is testing RS-25 engines to help power the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on future deep space missions. Each engine test in the current series at Stennis Space Center provides operational data to NASA's lead contractor, Aerojet Rocketdyne, on new components manufactured with state-of-the-art fabrication techniques as the company begins production on new RS-25 engines. (Source: NASA/SSC, 02/24/22) Previous

Quick switch to Terran R eyed

Relativity Space intends to use the small Aeon 1 engine it is developing to power its first rocket for only a few flights. Instead, the company plans to quickly perform a "block upgrade" for the Terran 1 rocket, which will serve as a bridge to the much larger, more capable Terran R rocket. "We’ve always envisioned Terran 1 being a development platform," said Tim Ellis, the co-founder and chief executive of California-based Relativity Space, in an interview with Ars. Relativity, which seeks to 3D-print the majority of its rocket parts, is continuing to work toward the first launch of Terran 1 this year. Powered by nine Aeon 1 rocket engines, this small rocket has a lift capacity of 1.25 metric tons to low Earth orbit. This first Terran 1 mission will not carry any customer payloads. The second flight of Terran 1 will carry a "Venture Class Launch Services" small satellite payload for NASA, awarded by the space agency in 2020 to support US-based small launch companies. Relativity plans to upgrade the Terran 1 rocket by moving from a nine-engine configuration to just a single Aeon-R engine. This engine, nine of which will eventually power the reusable Terran R rocket, is projected to have about 300,000 pounds of thrust, or more than 10 times that of the Aeon-1 engine. Engineers and technicians at Relativity are finalizing integration work on the first and second stages of the first Terran 1 rocket to launch. The second stage will soon ship to Stennis Space Center, Miss., for tests. Ellis said the Aeon 1 engines have completed acceptance testing. (Source: Ars/Technica, 02/22/22) Previous

Contract: Leidos, $8M

Leidos Inc., Reston, Va., is awarded an $8,097,773 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-21-C-5202) to exercise options for ship installation of the Navy’s AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Surface Ship Undersea Warfare Systems. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Va. (26%); Everett, Wash. (23%); Norfolk, Va. (19%); Yokosuka, Japan (14%); San Diego, Calif. (13%); Bath, Maine (1%); Manassas, Va. (1%); Mayport, Fla. (1%); Pascagoula, Miss. (1%); and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (1%), and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,050,840 (83%); and fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,007,802 (17%) will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/22/22)

Contract: Lockheed, update

The contract modification announced on Dec. 28, 2021, for $492,685,342 to Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, to exercise options to provide logistics support for delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft systems for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customers has been amended to $2,184,666,887. (Source: DoD, 02/22/22) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of an F-35 training center and reprogramming labs. Previous

More than just U.S.

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Tyndall Air Force Base's vast training airspace over the eastern Gulf of Mexico recently supported the 308th Fighter Squadron of Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in its mission to train 5th-generation fighter pilots. The 308th FS traveled to Tyndall to finish six student pilots’ basic course training on the F-35A Lightning II as well as continue training programs for transitional students and instructor pilots. The 308th FS training organization caters to both domestic and foreign forces, including students from the Netherlands and Denmark. The training allowed pilots from the three nations to not only fly with Tyndall aircraft, but Eglin AFB and Alabama Air National Guard assets also. To support visiting personnel and aircraft, the 325th Fighter Wing’s Plans and Programs Office and the 325th Logistics Readiness Squadron Reception Working Group plan together to ensure the visiting unit is secure with all necessary assets to complete the exercise. “The interoperability that we have between the United States and partner squadrons establishes a foundation for future (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) F-35 operations,” said Maj. Robert Cowsert, 308th FS assistant director of operations. “Our goal is to provide students the experience of operating from an unfamiliar airfield, integration with other aircraft types, and to achieve high-level end-of-course training.” (Source: 325th Fighter Wing, 02/17/22)

Contract: Lockheed, $42.1M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $42,134,921 firm-fixed-price modification (P00014) to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0001919D0015). This modification exercises an option to procure ancillary mission equipment in support of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lot 16 production aircraft for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Foreign Military Sales customers, and non-U.S. Department of Defense participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth and is expected to be completed in December 2024. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/18/22) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of an F-35 training center and reprogramming labs.

Contract: Textron, $41.7M

Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Md., is awarded a $41,699,951 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-6322 for engineering and technical support, incidental materials and travel for the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) program. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley (70%); and Slidell, La. (30%), and is expected to be completed by April 2023. Fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,467,712 (66%); fiscal 2022 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,848,058 (29%); and fiscal 2021 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $444,957 (5%) will be obligated at time of award, of which $444,957 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/18/22)

SSC, Firehawk unique partnership

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - In the last half of 2021, NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC) and startup Firehawk Aerospace participated in a partnership arrangement that provides a new model for future collaborations. In the typical “service-based” partnership model, SSC conducts a test campaign for or in conjunction with a partner company. With the new approach, Firehawk Aerospace led and managed its own test project at the NASA center. Stennis provided facilities, a dedicated test area and support resources for the company to test its Armstrong 1K rocket engine, using a patented, 3D-printed hybrid fuel and a unique mobile test platform. The company also was able to draw on the experience and expertise of the Stennis propulsion team during the project. "This partner-managed facility concept was the first of its kind for Stennis," said Paul Rydeen, NASA Stennis project manager. "We are trying to extend our activities to reach markets that are requesting such accommodations. Some companies want the proximity to propulsion infrastructure and support resources but wish to operate their test campaigns by themselves." The partnership provided SSC with an opportunity to demonstrate how a “partner-managed facility” arrangement could work, said Kevin Power, NASA Stennis chief of the Propulsion Test Project Management Office. It also provided an example of how companies can benefit from even a short-term partnership with the site as they scale up their own operations. SSC has been partnering with commercial companies for years. In recent years, it has supported or is now supporting commercial test projects for Aerojet Rocketdyne, Launcher, Blue Origin, SpaceX, Relativity Space, and Virgin Orbit. (Source: NASA/SSC. 02/17/22)

Contract: Lockheed, amended

The $492,685,342 contract (N0001921C0020) announced on Dec. 28, 2021, to Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, to provide logistics support for ground maintenance activities, action request solutions, depot activities, automatic logistics information system operation and maintenance, reliability and maintainability, supply chain management, pilot training, maintainer training, and training system sustainment in support of delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft systems for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customers has been amended to the amount of $2,184,666,887. All other variables in the contract remain unchanged. (Source: DoD, 02/17/22) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of an F-35 training center and reprogramming labs. Previous

Contract: BL Harbert, $73.8M

B.L. Harbert International LLC, Birmingham, Ala., was awarded a $73,787,722 firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of an aircraft maintenance facility pilotless aircraft shop. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 4, 2024. Fiscal 2020 military construction, Air Force funds in the amount of $73,787,722 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-22-C-0004). (Source: DoD, 02/17/22)

JetBlue ups A220 order

JetBlue announced on Tuesday an agreement to exercise its option to add 30 additional Airbus A220-300 aircraft to its order book, bringing the total of A220s in the airline’s fleet and on order to 100. The additional order allows JetBlue to more swiftly retire older aircraft. JetBlue expects its ninth A220 delivery this month, and 30 more by the end of 2023. A spokesman for the planemaker said a decision on the assembly location of the 30 additional jets has not been made, but they will be assembled either in Mobile, Ala., or in Mirabel, Quebec in Canada, or a combination of the two. (Source: multiple, including Bloomberg via Alabama News Center and BusinessWire, 02/15/22)

Contract: Sikorsky, $372M

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Conn., is awarded a $372,040,552 fixed-price incentive (firm-target) modification (P00007) to a previously awarded contract (N0001920C0047). This modification exercises an option for the production and delivery of four low-rate initial production, Lot 6, CH-53K Heavy Lift aircraft, as well as associated aircraft programmatic and logistical support for the government of Israel. Work will be performed in Stratford (37.57%); Wichita, Kan. (9.56%); Salt Lake City, Utah (5.60%); St. Louis, Mo. (4.36%); Bridgeport, W.V. (3.11%); Redmond, Wash. (1.99%); Kent, Wash. (1.67%); Quebec, Canada (1.63%); Cudahy, Wisc. (1.42%); Rochester, United Kingdom (1.29%); Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (1.19%); Rome, N.Y. (1.12%); Saint Marcel, France (1.04%); Jupiter, Fla. (1.03%); various locations within the continental U.S. (26.36%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (1.06%), and is expected to be completed in November 2025. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $372,040,552 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, 02/15/22)

Contract: Cape Fox, $25M

Cape Fox Federal Integrators LLC, Manassas, Va., was awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide training support for the Army Traffic Safety Training Program. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 13, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-22-D-0011). (Source: DoD, 02/14/22)

Contract: BAE Systems, $7.5M

BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services, Rockville, Md., is awarded a $7,528,289 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00030) to a previously awarded contract (N0042120C0003). This modification exercises an option to provide research, development, engineering, technical, and logistics support in support of the delivery of fully integrated and tested command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence (C4I) electronic radio communication systems for shipboard installation for the Ship and Air Integration Warfare Division, Naval Air Warfare Center, Webster Outlying Field. Work will be performed in St. Inigoes, Md. (60%); California, Md. (30%); Bath, Maine (5%); and Pascagoula, Miss. (5%), and is expected to be completed in February 2023. Fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,753,663 will be obligated at the 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, 02/14/22)

Contract: Lockheed, $315.8M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a not-to-exceed $315,806,063 fixed-price incentive (firm target), cost-plus-incentive-fee, and cost-plus-fixed-fee, undefinitized modification (P00015) to a previously awarded contract (N0001920C0032). This modification adds scope for the procurement, delivery, installation, and configuration of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter support equipment and non-aircraft spares. Additionally, this modification provides for site activations and integrated contractor support for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (80%); and Fort Worth, Texas (20%), and is expected to be completed in December 2027. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $44,226,673; fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $5,668,017; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $100,375,581; FMS customer funds in the amount of $10,334,286; and non-U.S. DOD partner funds in the amount of $2,217,513 will be obligated at the 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, 02/09/22) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of an F-35 training center and reprogramming labs.

Contract: multiple, $99M

Dustoff Burke JV Inc., St. Augustine, Fla. (N69450-22-D-0018); ESA South International, Cantonment, Fla. (N69450-22-D-0019); KMK Construction Inc., Jacksonville, Fla. (N69450-22-D-0020); Ribeiro/GCB JV, Pensacola, Fla. (N69450-22-D-0021); and U-SMC DeMaria, JV, Jacksonville, Fla. (N69450-22-D-0022), are awarded a combined $99,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award construction contract for design-build and design-bid-build construction projects within the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay area of operations. Construction will primarily consist of general building type projects (new construction, renovation, alteration, demolition, and repair work) including but not limited to: aviation and aircraft facilities, marine facilities, industrial, aircraft hangar, aircraft traffic control, administrative, training, dormitory, water-front and community support facilities. The initial seed project to upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and fire protection and interior renovation of Building 5063 will be awarded to KMK Construction Inc., in the amount of $2,617,483. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance, (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,617,483 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The remaining four awardees will each be awarded $1,000 (minimum contract guarantee per awardee) at contract award. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); and operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds. The maximum dollar value for the full five-year ordering period for all five contracts combined is $99,000,000. Work will be performed in Kings Bay, Ga. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months and is expected to be completed by February 2027. This contract was competitively competed via the sam.gov Opportunities website with 13 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/09/22)

Contract: First Nation, $225M

First Nation Group LLC, Niceville, Fla., has been awarded a maximum $225,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for ventilator systems, patient monitoring systems, telemetry systems and sensors and adaptors with their accessories. This was a competitive acquisition with 54 responses received. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. Location of performance is Florida, with a Feb. 9, 2027, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2027 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa. (SPE2D1-22-D-0007). (Source: DoD, 02/09/22)

Pensacola gets T-45 with ADS-B (Out)

The T-45 team at Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Md., delivered the first Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) (Out)-compliant T-45 in January to Training Squadron (VT) 86 in Pensacola, Fla., to meet a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirement. ADS-B is a system that repeatedly broadcasts an aircraft’s current position, altitude, airspeed, identification and other information over a common frequency. It is intended to replace or augment ground-based radar and enhance traffic flow. ADS-B (Out) is an FAA requirement within the National Airspace System that mandates a nationwide transition to ADS-B (Out) with Mode S elementary surveillance technology by 2025. The T-45 ADS-B (Out) integration replaces the Air Data Computer as well as the Identification, Friend or Foe transponder, which now includes a certified ADS-B-compliant embedded Global Positioning System; improves the Mission Display Processor Operational Flight Program, and modifies aircraft wiring and existing antennas.(Source: NAVAIR News, 02/07/22)

RS-25 has second test of year

RS-25 test Tuesday. NASA/SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA conducted its second RS-25 engine hot fire test of the year Feb. 8 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at Stennis Space Center (SSC), the third hot fire in the latest test series that began in mid-December. NASA is testing RS-25 engines to help power the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) on future deep-space missions. Four RS-25 engines will generate a combined 2 million pounds of thrust to power SLS’s ascent. Each test in the current series is providing operational data to NASA's lead contractor, Aerojet Rocketdyne, on a variety of new components manufactured with state-of-the-art fabrication techniques as the company begins production of new RS-25 engines. (Source: NASA/SSC, 02/08/22) Previous

Program eyes aviation mechanics

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Florida Power and Light Co. recently awarded J.H. Workman Middle School a STEM grant worth $50,000, about half of which will be used the school's Technology Education classroom, turning it into the “"Center of Invention and Innovation."  The rest has been allocated toward a new STEM program to be taught within the renovated space. The STEM program, called We Build It Better, was developed by Flight Works Alabama and is meant to teach middle school students the foundations of industrial design and equip them with mechanical skills they can apply in the real-world. Because the curriculum was created by Flight Works, some of its projects and presentations will incorporate aeronautic concepts, according Steven Harrell, director of Workforce Education for the Escambia County School District. "So, the beauty of it being at Workman is that the school is walking distance away from (Booker T.) Washington High School and is one of the feeder schools for Washington High School," Harrell said. Booker T. Washington High School already has its own aviation technology program, and the new program at Workman Middle School will now have the potential to create a pipeline of future aviation mechanics. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 02/07/22)

Quebec invests more in A220

Airbus and Quebec on Friday said they agreed to a $1.2 billion investment deal that would allow the Canadian province to maintain its 25 percent share of the A220 jet program. Airbus would invest $900 million, while Quebec would put $300 million into the program. The investment would help increase production in both Mirabel in the Montreal area and in Mobile, Ala. The two parties agreed to delay the date when Airbus can buy back Quebec's stake in the joint venture to 2030. The program is expected to be profitable in 2025. Quebec first invested in the aircraft when it was the Bombardier CSeries in 2015. Bombardier handed over control to Airbus in 2018 and left the program entirely in 2020. (Sources: multiple, including Reuters, The Canadian Press via Winnipeg Free Press, 02/04/22, Skies, 02/07/22) Previous related

Relativity continues progress

Relativity Space, a Long Beach, Calif. aerospace startup, is making progress towards its first launch of a 3D-printed rocket. Relativity aims to alter the manufacturing process of rockets by 3D-printing almost every piece of its orbital-class Terran rockets. In the last two and a half years, the startup co-founded by Tim Ellis, formerly of Blue Origin, and Jordan Noone, formerly of SpaceX, has raised nearly $1.3 billion through private investors. It has expanded to nearly 600 employees in just a few years. Aside from headquarters and manufacturing facility in Long Beach, Relativity has operations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., where it’s developing Launch Complex 16, and at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., which is testing its engines and rocket stages. In a recent tweet, Ellis revealed that the company completed a record nine successful Aeon engine tests in a single day. The CEO also stated that stage integration for Terran 1’s launch debut was making “amazing progress.” Relativity had previously planned for Terran 1’s first launch to take place by the end of 2021. That debut has since slipped to “early 2022”, while the company hopes its far larger reusable Terran R rocket will debut in 2024. (Source: Teslarati, 02/06/22)  Previous

Contract: System High, $104.9M

System High Corp., Chantilly, Va., is awarded a $104,877,823 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides program security services for the F-35 Joint Program Office to include program management, general security, information security, industrial security, physical security, personnel security, counter-intelligence and foreign disclosure support. Additionally, this contract provides special security studies, program protection cybersecurity and security control assessments as well as and engineering services support. Work will be performed in Arlington, Va. (90%); Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (4%); Stuttgart, Germany (2%); Fort Worth, Texas (2%); Patuxent River, Md. (1%); and Eglin AFB, Fla. (1%), and is expected to be completed in February 2027. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; one offer was received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, is the contracting activity (N0001922D0008). (Source: DoD, 02/07/22)

IHMC research campus expanding

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in downtown Pensacola will be adding a $20 million research facility, giving it a new home for the third pillar of its research. IHMC, best known for its research in artificial intelligence and robotics, will get a new home dedicated to Healthspan, Resilience and Performance Research. The four-story, 44,000-square-foot facility is expected to be finished in 2024 if design work and groundbreaking can happen by the summer. CEO Ken Ford said the new building will bring new collaboration opportunities for IHMC and will allow top talent to be recruited to Pensacola rather than outsourcing work to other cities with high-level research labs. IHMC Senior Research Scientist Dr. Marcas Bamman already leads the Healthspan Resilience and Performance team of about a dozen people in existing IHMC offices, but the new building will give them a dedicated lab and allow the team to triple in size over the next five years. The team has a particular motivation to study how individuals who strive for peak performance in younger years, like those in the military or athletes, could be helped in later life to avoid chronic conditions or physical ailments often seen in those communities. Pensacola’s military connection is a major draw to expanding IHMC's work in the city, but Ford also said continued growth in Pensacola helps to attract and maintain top talent while also streamlining the work already done in Pensacola. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 02/04/22, IHMC News, 01/28/22. The design proposals RFQ can be found here.) Previous; previous related robotics

Contract: Weston, $8.6M

Weston Solutions Inc., Peachtree Corners, Ga., was awarded an $8,590,275 firm-fixed-price contract to maintain and repair petroleum systems and facilities. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Anniston, Ala.; Fort Rucker, Ala.; Starke, Fla.; Columbus, Ga.; Dahlonega, Ga.; Savannah, Ga.; Palmerola, Honduras; Grenada, Miss.; Hattiesburg, Miss.; Morrisville, N.C.; Salisbury, N.C.; Pope Army Airfield, N.C.; Southport, N.C.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Salinas, Puerto Rico; Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; and Peachtree Corners, Ga., with an estimated completion date of Feb. 7, 2023. Fiscal 2022 revolving funds in the amount of $8,590,275 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity (W912DY-22-F-0081). (Source: DoD, 02/03/22)

Contract: EMR, $27.6M

EMR Inc., Niceville, Fla., was awarded a $27,568,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of two magazine storage facilities, a missile facility shop, and renovation of multiple facilities at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Tyndall AFB with an estimated completion date of April 22, 2024. Fiscal 2020 military construction, Air Force funds in the amount of $27,568,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-22-C-0007). (Source: DoD, 02/01/22)

If Airbus wins, Mobile builds tanker

MOBILE, Ala. – Airbus and Lockheed Martin officials say the LMXT strategic tanker will be built in Mobile and Marietta, Ga., if the team wins the Air Force bridge tanker competition over Boeing. The bridge tanker program calls for aircraft based on existing technology to supplement the Air Force tanker fleet after the last KC-46 is delivered in 2029. The tanker will cover the gap until the service develops its future Advanced Air Refueling Tanker. Should they win the Air Force KC-Y tanker competition, Mobile would get a third final assembly line. The tanker would use the A330 airframe and would be the first widebody aircraft to be assembled in Mobile. The third assembly line would mean a $450 million investment and 400 direct jobs with an average salary of $60,000 per year. Airbus currently assembles A320 and A220 jetliners in Mobile. Boeing currently builds tankers for the Air Force. (Source: multiple, including Reuters, DefenseOne, aldotcom, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, 01/31/22) Previous; Detailed article on the KC-Y competition can be found in the August issue of the Gulf Coast Aerospace newsletter.