Eglin F-35 training accelerates

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Flight training on the F-35 continues to accelerate at the 33rd Fighter Wing. Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, commander of the wing’s 58th Fighter Squadron, said that in the first week of flying in March there were two flights scheduled. Now in August the plan is for sixteen F-35 sorties a week and in September it go up to 21. There are nine F-35As, nine U.S. F-35Bs and one UK F-35B at Eglin. (Source: Flightglobal, 08/13/12) Eglin is home of the F-35 training center. Luke Air Force Base has also been chosen as a training center.

Morpheus crashes in test

A small NASA lander being tested for missions to the moon and other destinations beyond Earth crashed and burned after veering off course during a trial run at the Kennedy Space Center last week. There were no injuries after the prototype, known as Morpheus, burst into flames near the runway formerly used by NASA's space shuttles. Designed and built by engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, it made several flights attached to a crane before the attempted free-flight. The engines appeared to ignite as planned, but a few seconds later Morpheus rolled over on its side and crashed. (Source: Reuters, 08/10/12) Gulf Coast note: The engine that powers the lander was tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

325th preps for F-22

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- In preparation for the arrival of a new operational F-22 Raptor squadron, Hangar 1 is undergoing renovations to support the new 325th mission. The 325th transition from Air Education and Training Command to Air Combat Command will require that the hangar be modified for the F-22. In the past, Hangar 1 was primarily used for the F-15C Eagle training squadron's mission, but will now be utilized for the 325th Maintenance Group in support of the 22 additional jets. The project is expected to be finished by the middle of September. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing, 08/09/12) Previous

NG readies for UAV refueling

Northrop Grumman has flown two Global Hawks in formation under its KQ-X program to develop the concept of air-to-air refueling for unmanned aerial systems. One aircraft in the exercise was equipped with a belly-mounted refueling system. The two aircraft did not make dry contacts or exchange fuel. Under a $33 million deal in 2010 with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Northrop agreed to demonstrate refueling with a pair of Global Hawks the company shares with NASA. (Source: Flightglobal, 08/09/12) Gulf Coast note: Unmanned systems, including Global Hawk, are built in part in Moss Point, Miss. Previous

325th changes commander

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Maj. Shawnn Martin assumed command of the 325th Maintenance Squadron during a change of command ceremony today. Martin was previously the commander of the 7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. He is replacing Maj. Andre Lecours who is retiring. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing, 08/10/12)

Guard pilot now an F-35 instructor

Spohn performs pre-flight check.
U.S. Air Force photo

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Florida Air National Guard Maj. Jay Spohn on Aug. 3 flew his final of six flights to become the first Guard pilot to qualify as an F-35A instructor pilot at the multi-service, multi-national Integrated Training Center. Spohn is assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing as the assistant director of operations for the 58th Fighter Squadron and the chief of standards and evaluation for the 33rd Operations Group. Spohn was selected in November of 2009 to be initial F-35A cadre and help pave the way by developing syllabus for flight training. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 08/09/12) Previous

Contract: Sikorsky, $39.3M

Sikorsky Support Services Inc., Pensacola, Fla., is being awarded a $39,297,082 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery, requirements contract for logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance to support 148 T-34, 54 T-44, and 178 T-6 aircraft based primarily at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas; NAS Whiting Field, Fla.; and NAS Pensacola. Work will be done in Corpus Christi (50 percent), Whiting Field (39 percent), Pensacola (8 percent), and various sites within the continental United States (3 percent), including: NAS Lemoore, Calif.; NAS Oceana, Va.; Marine Corp Air Station Miramar, Calif.; Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Huntsville, Ala.; and NAS Fallon, Nev. Work is expected to be completed in December 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/08/12)

Company gets contract

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- The airport authority awarded the stormwater management system augmentation contract to Phoenix Construction of Lynn Haven. Phoenix submitted a bid of $3.219 million, lowest of five bids. The board and Phoenix spent two years fighting over who was responsible for problems at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport with sod, erosion, sand and filtration ponds during construction, and then a year more of litigation after the airport opened. Eventually, the two reached an agreement. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 08/07/12)

Mobile offers lesson

Mobile, Ala.'s successful recruitment of Airbus along with past efforts to attract foreign investments offers a playbook on how to create U.S. jobs. The United States is still the premier destination for international firms, but its lead is slipping. A decade ago it attracted more than 40 percent of global foreign investment, but today it’s 18 percent, according to the Organization for International Investment. OFII president Nancy McLernon said in an interview with the Mobile Press-Register that the Airbus deal is an example of how the U.S. can regain its competitive edge. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/08/12)

Bentley wants Airbus suppliers

MOBILE, Ala. -- Gov. Robert Bentley said courting Airbus suppliers is as important as winning the Airbus assembly line. "As important as bringing Airbus is," Bentley said in a phone interview with WPMI-TV, "the suppliers are just as important." Bentley said Florida and Mississippi are racing to grab companies that make up the jetliner's supply chain, and he has has been chatting with representatives since the Farnborough Airshow last month. (Source: WPMI-TV, 08/07/12) Previous

Contract: UTC, $9.5M

United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $9,557,346 modification to a previously awarded advanced acquisition contract. This modification is under the previously awarded low rate initial production Lot V modification contract. This modification is for two additional conventional take-off and landing engines; associated engineering assistance to production; a mock-up engine; slave modules for engine depot test cells; initial stand-up of a propulsion system repair capability at Hill Air Force Base; and additional contractor logistics support at Fort Worth, Texas, and Palmdale, Calif., production sites, and at Eglin, Yuma, Nellis, and Edwards Air Force bases. Work is expected to be completed in February 2014. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/07/12)

Airbus to double U.S. spending

WICHITA, Kan. -- European aerospace giant Airbus said it wants to double the $12 billion it spends with U.S. suppliers over the next 10 years. Airbus officials were at the Air Capital Supplier Summit Monday meeting with representatives from 114 companies. Airbus, which has an engineering center in Wichita, said it would hold a second summit somewhere in Kansas soon. The summit comes months after Airbus rival Boeing said it would close its Wichita plant. (Source: Wichita Eagle, 08/06/12) Gulf Coast note: Airbus announced last month that it would build a seven-building, 116-acre A320 assembly line in Mobile, Ala., at Brookley Aeroplex. Airbus also has an engineering center in Mobile. Previous: Boeing leaving Wichita; Airbus eyes Washington suppliers

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $210M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $209,800,000 modification to a previously awarded contract. This modification provides for the manufacture and delivery of initial air vehicle spares in support of 32 F-35 low rate initial production Lot V air vehicles. Work will be performed in Texas, California, United Kingdom, Florida, New Hampshire and Maryland and is expected to be completed in June 2015. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/06/12) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

Pemco deal halted

Vision Technologies Aerospace, the aerospace arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd., halted its acquisition of Pemco's Tampa aerospace maintenance facility after some closing conditions could not be fulfilled by the seller before the closing deadline. ST Engineering is the parent company of Mobile's ST Aerospace in Mobile, Ala., and VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula, Miss.. ST Aerospace Mobile employs about 1,500 at Brookley Aeroplex, where it maintains and overhauls large airplanes. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/06/12) Previous

Boeing, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada win

NASA will provide $1.1 billion in contracts to Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada to develop spacecraft to ferry crews to and from the International Space Station. Boeing gets $460 million, SpaceX gets $440 million and Sierra Nevada will receive $212 million. The announcement was made Friday at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The awards are part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program, a potentially multibillion-dollar job of ferrying astronauts. While NASA works with industry partners to develop commercial spaceflight capabilities to low Earth orbit, it's also is developing the Orion crew vehicle and the Space Launch System for deep space exploration. (Sources: NASA, Los Angeles Times, Boeing, SpaceX via PRNewswire, Sierra Nevada via PRNewswire, 08/03/12) Gulf Coast note: Stennis Space Center, Miss., tests rocket engines for NASA and commercial companies; Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans builds Orion and will build the core stage of the SLS.

Fuel farm gets USDA grant, loan

A $300,000 grant and $740,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be used by the Hancock County (Miss. ) Development Commission to buy an industrial site and build a fuel farm for a jet engine test facility, which Rolls Royce will lease at NASA's Stennis Space Center. The USDA program is designed to support job creation and strengthen economic growth in rural counties. Projects in 12 states are receiving money through Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program, which provides zero-interest loans to local utilities which, in turn, provide funds to local businesses for projects to create and retain employment in rural areas. (Source: USDA, 08/02/12)

NCAM partnership renewed

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA and Louisiana leaders Thursday committed to a five-year extension of the partnership in the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, which supports aerospace manufacturing research, development and innovation for the space agency. NCAM was formed in 1999 and includes NASA, NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, the state of Louisiana and the University of New Orleans. This new agreement expands the partnership to include Louisiana State University, which has engineering and research capabilities that can assist NCAM in fulfilling the nation's aerospace technology needs. (Source: NASA via PRNewswire, 08/02/12)

Luke gets F-35 training center

Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Ariz., has been selected as an F-35 pilot training center, joining Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The base west of Phoenix was competing with bases in Tucson, Ariz., New Mexico and Idaho for the mission. Glendale officials said the base will get 72 F-35s to train U.S. and foreign pilots. Air Force officials said Luke was chosen because of facility and ramp capacity, range access, weather, as well as capacity for future growth. (Source: AP via Air Force Times, Arizona Republic, 08/01/12)

Pensacola expects aero company

Reuters is reporting that Pensacola's mayor expects to announce a deal soon with an aerospace company to bring more than 300 jobs to Northwest Florida. The mayor declined to name the company, but said it involves an expansion of the company now operating in Mobile, Ala. The Mobile Press-Register reported in June that officials from Pensacola, some 60 miles to the east, went to Mobile to talk to ST Aerospace about a possible move of all or part of the 1,000-worker operation to Pensacola. Singapore-owned ST Aerospace, which repairs aircraft at Brookley Aeroplex, has operated for years in Mobile. (Source: Reuters, 08/01/12) Previous reports indicated the company is concerned about being able to keep workers once Airbus establishes its A320 assembly line at Brookley Aeroplex. Previous: Neighbor courts ST Aerospace, Ng: Just a meeting; Related: UPS leaves Mobile for Pensacola

Indoor UAV test site eyed

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – With the use of unmanned aerial vehicles expected to climb, Okaloosa County economic development leaders hope to develop an indoor UAV test site. The Economic Development Council is working to develop the 45,000-square-foot Autonomous Vehicle Center that will be used to test small unmanned air and ground vehicles. The $4.5 million Autonomous Vehicle Center will be built on the University of Florida's Research and Engineering Education Facility near Eglin Air Force Base. The vision is to have a diverse group use it, from high school students to private companies. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 07/31/12) The Gulf Coast region is heavily involved in UAVS. Fire Scout and Global Hawk UAVs are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.; the military trains with UAVs at Stennis Space Center and Camp Shelby, Miss; the Coast Guard has developed a UAV training course in Mobile, Ala.; Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is involved in navigation systems for micro unmanned systems.