Hurlburt hosts exercise

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. - Air Force Special Operations Command is hosting a field exercise through Feb. 13 designed to train forces in combat scenarios. Emerald Warrior is taking place at Hurlburt Field and nearby Eglin Air Force Base, and focuses on training Air Force, Army and allied units in missions resulting from lessons learned in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Training includes troop insertions using a CV-22 Osprey, air-ground support operations using A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and AC-130 gunships, and convoy active-defense scenarios. (Source: Air Force Link, 02/11/09)

Stennis unit gets new complex

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - A team that works closely with Navy SEALs will be moving into a new $9.7 million complex at Stennis Space Center Friday. Special Boat Team 22, which specializes in riverine missions, has grown in the last four years. There are 400 sailors assigned to SBT 22, which has a training school for foreign sailors and operates 30 riverine craft. (Source: Navy Times, 02/10/09)

Lunar spacecraft bound for Florida

GREENBELT, Md. - NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was loaded on a truck Wednesday for a two-day trip to Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Launch is targeted for April 24. The spacecraft recently completed a series of tests and was subjected to temperatures it will experience as it orbits the moon. LRO will spend at least one year in a low polar orbit on its primary exploration mission, with the possibility of three more years to collect additional detailed scientific information about the moon and its environment. (Source: NASA, 02/11/09) Gulf Coast note: Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi are involved in the Constellation Program, the return of astronauts to the moon and beyond

Eglin pilot chosen F-35 instructor

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - A pilot from Eglin Air Force Base is among those chosen for the initial cadre of F-35 instructors. Maj. Lee Kloos, with nearly 2,000 flying hours, said he's excited he'll be able to stay at Eglin, where he's worked with the Joint Strike Fighter Site Activation Task Force program. Three more cadre members are scheduled to join the major this summer. Eglin will be the location of the Joint Strike Fighter training center. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 02/10/09)

F-35C restored funds pass Congress

Four defense oversight committees in Congress approved the Navy’s reprogramming request in fiscal 2009 for funds to secure purchases of the first Joint Strike Fighter for carrier operations, according to defense officials and congressional staff. The reprogramming for $40 million will pay for long lead parts for three Lockheed Martin F-35Cs. (Source: Aviation Week, 02/11/09) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be the joint training site for the F-35 program

Eglin to search for old munition

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Eglin officials and contractors are preparing to conduct visual surface surveys on private property in Santa Rosa County to ensure former weapon test ranges are clear of old munitions. Eglin sent right of entry requests to 13 private property owners in an area that was formerly part of now defunct Range 30, where aerial gunnery testing was conducted in the 1940s-50s. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 02/09/09)

Three indicted in contract cases

Three Okaloosa County, Fla., men were indicted on federal charges for violations committed while working at or contracting with the Air Force Research Laboratory on Eglin Air Force Base. The indictment claims one of the three, while employed as a senior engineer at the federal lab, steered programs to Schaller Engineering, or SEI, in which he had a financial interest. The three are also accused of trying to cover up the financial interests. (Source: WEAR-TV, Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/07/09)

NOAA satellite launched

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket successfully boosted a NOAA satellite into orbit Friday. The satellite will be used to track fast-breaking storms and monitor climate changes. A Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A engine powered the rocket, and three Alliant Techsystems GEM-40 solid propulsion strap-on boosters ignited with the first-stage main engine. (Source: Pratt & Whitney, ATK, 02/06/09) Gulf Coast note: Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has a facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss.; ATK has an operation in Shalimar, Fla.

F-35 Eglin bed down a done deal

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - The Air Force, which in November delayed the record of decision establishing a Joint Strike Fighter school at Eglin because of noise concerns, finally sealed the deal. The Air Force on Friday said steps will be taken to mitigate noise, in part through limiting use of one runway. The F-35 is twice as loud as an F-15, prompting residents of nearby Valparaiso to express concern. The Air Force used the delay to explore options to mitigate noise. The record of decision means construction can now get under way in preparation for 59 F-35s that will arrive beginning March 2010. Nine construction projects worth about $170 million are in the bidding process and construction is expected to begin before October. All branches of the military will use the Eglin training center. A decision on additional planes for the base will be made in 2010. (Sources: Tcp, 02/06/09; Northwest Florida Daily News, Pensacola News Journal, Eglin Air Force Base)

Army orders five more Lakotas

COLUMBUS, Miss. - The Army awarded EADS North America a contract for five additional UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopters, bringing the total on contract to 128. The Army expects to acquire a total of 345 Lakotas, built at the American Eurocopter facility in Columbus, Miss., through 2016. More than 50 UH-72As have been delivered by EADS North America, and some 8,000 flight hours have been logged to date. Lakotas are in operation at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa.; Fort Eustis, Va.; Fort Polk, La.; Fort Irwin, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Morrisville, N.C.; Pineville, La.; Tupelo, Miss.; and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. (Source: EADS North America, 02/05/09) Gulf Coast note: EADS also has an Airbus engineering center and EADS CASA operation in Mobile, Ala.

NFOs get more realistic radar

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Boeing received a $28.3 million contract for two Virtual Mission Training System retrofit kits that will integrate realistic radar training into the Navy T-45 Training System. The VMTS is designed for the training of flight officers who operate weapons and electronic warfare systems. The work involves T-45C aircraft and ground-station systems assigned to Training Air Wing 6, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. Boeing is currently under contract for 221 T-45 Goshawk trainer aircraft. The two-seater forms the heart of the fully integrated T-45 training system, used at NAS Kingsville, Texas, NAS Meridian, Miss., and NAS Pensacola. (Source: Boeing, 02/05/09)

Contract: AeroVironment, $39M

AeroVironment, Simi Valley, Calif., was awarded a $39,003,452 contract for logistics support for the Raven RQ-11B Unmanned Aircraft System. Work is to be performed in Simi Valley, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2010. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/03/09) Gulf Coast note: AeroVironment has an operation in Navarre, Fla.

Goodrich 4Q report

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Goodrich announced a 31 percent increase in net income per diluted share and a two percent increase in sales in the fourth quarter of 2008. Full year 2008 sales were $7.1 billion, an increase of 10 percent over full year 2007. Full year 2008 income per diluted share from continuing operations was $5.33 and net income per diluted share of $5.39, an increase of 37 percent and 43 percent, respectively, compared to 2007. (Source: Goodrich, 02/04/09) Gulf Coast note: Goodrich has a service center in Foley, Ala.

NSF, Navy data added to Google Earth

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and the National Science Foundation have entered agreements with Google to provide data for the popular program. According to NSF, a feature called "Oceans in Google Earth" enables users to dive beneath the surface of the sea and explore oceans. It includes videos, photos, diagrams and texts that illustrate glacial, geological and ocean processes influencing the behavior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in Antarctica. The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command entered a cooperative research agreement to share with Google Earth unclassified information about oceans. The CRADA allows Google to use unclassified bathymetric data sets and sea surface temperatures from the Naval Oceanographic Office as well as meteorological data from Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center, both subordinate commands of NMOC. (Sources: NSF, NNS, 02/02/09)

Engine cleared for STOVL testing

Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine has been cleared for flight esting in the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. Approval follows a review of design changes made to eliminate vibration that caused turbine blade failures in ground tests. The first redesigned engine was delivered to Lockheed Martin last week for installation in aircraft BF-1, the first short takeoff and vertical landing F-35B. Testing is expected to begin at Fort Worth, Texas, this month. The first vertical landing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., is expected in June or July. (Source: Aviation Week, 02/03/09) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be the F-35 pilot training center

Northrop 4Q report

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Northrop Grumman, hurt by a $3.06 billion charge connected to past acquisitions says it posted a fourth-quarter loss of $2.54 billion, or $7.76 per share, in the latest quarter. It earned $457 million, or $1.32 per share, in the same period last year. Excluding the charge, Northrop says it earned $524 million, or $1.57 per share. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 02/03/09) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman has multiple operations in the Gulf Coast, including an unmanned systems center in Moss Point, Miss.

ATK to expand in Mississippi

IUKA, Miss. - Alliant Techsystems will expand its northeast Mississippi plant to make composite structures for commercial aircraft, Gov. Haley Barbour said Monday. The Minneapolis-based company will keep the 176 jobs it already has in Iuka. Barbour said the plant will have 800 jobs by 2017 with an average salary of about $53,000. (Source: Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 02/02/09) Gulf Coast note: ATK also has a weapons-related operation in Shalimar, Fla.

Contract: DRS, $13.9M

DRS C3 Systems Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $13,915,132 contract for new work modification for 1,520 Driver’s Vision Enhancer TWV A-Kits for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Program and 224 DVE CV A-Kits and 756 cable assemblies. Work is being performed at Fort Walton Beach, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2009. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/02/09)

Contract: Concurrent, $11.5M

Concurrent Technology Corp., Johnstown, Pa., is being awarded an $11,468,212 contract to provide technical and engineering services for continued Carriage, Stream, Tow, and Recovery System (CSTRS) development, test, and analysis. This procurement supports development of the CSTRS to incorporate Airborne Mine Countermeasures capabilities and will be utilized on the MH-60S helicopter. Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pa., (88 percent) and Panama City, Fla., (12 percent), and is expected to completed by Feb. 2012. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/02/09)

Boeing gets F2AST contract

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - Boeing won its first contract award under the Air Force Future Flexible Acquisition and Sustainment Tool (F2AST) program. The award is a $19.1 million Air Force Special Operations Command contract for AC-130U Gunship operational flight and simulation software maintenance; field service support; configuration, data and obsolescence management; and intermediate-level repairs. The government is expected to negotiate three annual options during the first quarter of this year. An option may be exercised every 12 months. (Source: Boeing, 02/02/09) Gulf Coast note: Work will be performed by Boeing SOF at Hurlburt Field, Fla., home of the U.S. Air Force Special Forces Command.