Italy rolls out F-35

First Italian-built F-35 rolls out March 12.
Lockheed Martin photo

CAMERI, Italy -- The first F-35 assembled outside the United States rolled off an assembly line in Italy on Thursday. The fighter, an F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant designated AL-1, was being assembled at the final assembly and check out (FACO) facility at Cameri Air Base in northern Italy. It's the first of eight for a production run of 90. AL-1 is due to fly for the first time later this year. Cameri will assemble F-35s for Italy and the Netherlands at the facility, which is also being used to build wing sets for Lockheed Martin. The first wing section has been completed and is due to be shipped to Lockheed's Fort Worth, Texas, F-35 production line. Owned by the Italian Ministry of Defense, Cameri is operated by Finmeccanica-Alenia Aermacchi and Lockheed Martin. It currently has 750 workers at the 101-acre facility. The plant has 22 buildings and over a million square feet of covered workspace. Last December, the site was chosen by the U.S. Defense Department as Europe's F-35 airframe maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade center, which should guarantee work for Cameri after Italy's jets have been assembled. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 03/12/15) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Training exercise slated

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – The 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron will conduct flight and boat operations in the Gulf of Mexico eight to 20 miles south of Destin and in Choctawhatchee Bay March 16-19. The operations are part of the 53rd Wing's weapon system evaluation program. Fighter aircraft will release munitions in the morning between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. about eight to 20 nautical miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. Around 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the bay, about 30 boats will be used as visual targets by fighter aircraft and helicopters flying mid to low level. The boats traveling in formation will transverse between the Mid-Bay Bridge and the Highway 331 Bridge and also eight to 20 miles south of Destin in the Gulf of Mexico. No munitions will be involved, but some boat operators will be dressed in various uniforms and costumes and may carry rubber rifles painted in highly visible colors. Some boats will have simulated, fake deck guns and rocket launcher tubes. The boats may use marine flares as visual markers. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 03/13/15) A similar exercise was held in early February.

UH-60 salvage barge arriving

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Resolve Marine Group of Mobile, Ala., has been contracted to complete the recovery of the UH-60 aircraft from Santa Rosa Sound. The helicopter went down Tuesday during a training mission in heavy fog. Seven Marines and four Army crewmen died in the crash just east of Navarre, Fla. The salvage barge arrives today and the operation is expected to take eight hours, weather pending. An Army and Coast Guard dive team will also be on site to assist in the recovery. Once the aircraft has been removed from 25 feet of water, the recovery operations are expected to be turned over to the Safety Investigation Board already on site. That effort is being headed by the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center out of Fort Rucker, Ala. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 03/13/15) Previous

Army UH-60 found

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – The Army UH-60 that crashed in Northwest Florida's Santa Rosa Sound has been found and the search and rescue is now officially a recovery effort. Eleven servicemen, seven Marines and four Army, were onboard the Black Hawk that was on a training mission when it went down Tuesday. "At this point, we are not hopeful of any survivors and therefore our efforts have shifted to recovery operations," said Col. Monte Cannon, 96th Test Wing vice-commander. "Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the family members and the units where our soldiers and Marines call home." The names of the victims have not yet been released. The Army members were from Hammond, La., and the Marines from Camp Lajuene, N.C. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 03/12/15) Previous

Rucker team to lead crash probe

The U.S. Army’s Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., will take lead of the investigation into the crash this week of a Louisiana Air National Guard UH-60 helicopter near Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Fort Rucker is dispatching an accident investigation team to the scene at Navarre, Fla, according to Mike Negard, director of public affairs with the Army readiness center. The team will consist of four investigators from Fort Rucker, one from the Aviation Center's directorate of evaluation and standards, two from the Navy and Marine Corps, and two from the National Guard. (Source: Dothan Eagle 03/11/15) Previous

Contract: Atlas NA, $14M

Atlas North America LLC, Virginia Beach, Va., is being awarded a $14,085,779 firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity requirements contract for depot level repair, maintenance, modifications, engineering services and spare parts for the AN/SLQ-60 Surface Mine Neutralization System (SMNS) to support the Navy for the currently deployed mine countermeasures legacy systems. The SMNS provides neutralization of shallow and deep-water mines located by the AN/AQS-24A Mine Detecting Set, and/or other mine countermeasures assets. The system is used by Navy ships and helicopters. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $76,469,768. Work will be performed in Panama City Beach, Fla. (60 percent); Bahrain (25 percent); Virginia Beach, Va. (10 percent); South Korea (2.5 percent); Japan (2.5 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2016. No funding is being obligated at time of award. No funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 (a) (2) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, is the contracting activity (N61331-15-D-0012). (Source: DoD, 03/11/15)

UH-60 crashes; 11 presumed dead

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Seven Marines and four Army helicopter crew members are missing and presumed dead after a UH-60 helicopter crashed during a routine night training exercise near a military-owned stretch of beach between Pensacola and Destin. The Black Hawk from the Louisiana Army National Guard was reported missing around 8:30 p.m. CDT Tuesday. Search-and-rescue crews found debris around 2 a.m. today at Eglin Range A-17, east of the Navarre Bridge. Human remains have washed up on shore, according to Eglin. The Marines are assigned to a Marine Special Operations group from Camp Lajuene, N.C., and the helicopters is assigned to the 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Hammond, La. Reports indicate the helicopter took off from an airport in Destin and joined other helicopters in the training exercise. The names of the Marines and Army aircrew have not been released pending appropriate notifications. (Source: GCAC, 03/11/15)

Turkish Airlines picks Trent 700

Turkish Airlines selected Rolls-Royce to supply Trent 700 engines and long-term service support, worth $300 million, to power four Airbus A330 freighter aircraft. The airline already operates 11 A330ceo passenger and five A330 freighter aircraft powered by the Trent 700. In the A330 freighter market, the Trent 700 now accounts for 90 percent of aircraft in service and on order. More than 1,500 Trent 700s are now in service or on firm order, making it the largest in-service Trent engine. (Source: Rolls-Royce, 03/09/15) Gulf Coast note: Rolls-Royce tests the Trent family of engines at its outdoor test facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Airbus could hike output again

Airbus could commit to a new hike in production of its A320 family of jetliners before the end of the year, Reuters reports, but a final decision depends in large part on the health of the supply chain. Sales chief John Leahy made the prediction days after the European plane maker announced plans to raise production from 42 planes a month now to 50 a month in 2017, almost matching a monthly rate of 52 targeted by Boeing for the following year. (Source: Reuters, 03/09/15) Gulf Coast note: Airbus this year will open an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala.

Global Hawk flight hour cost down

The U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system has seen a significant decrease in cost per flight hour coupled with a sharp increase in flight hours, officials said. The Global Hawk program has brought the system's cost per flight hour down to the point of being half the cost of the manned alternative. It also saw close to a 40 percent increase in flight hours from 2013 to 2014. Global Hawk variants have flown more than 140,000 flight hours in support of diverse surveillance missions. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 03/04/15) Meanwhile, An RQ-4B Global Hawk, A2019, embarked on a mission March 7 that sent the aircraft past the 10,000 flying-hour milestone at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. The aircraft has been providing support to warfighters by relaying communications between people and aircraft as well as enabling airstrikes on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). (Source: AFNS, 03/10/15) Gulf Coast note: Fuselage work for all Global Hawk variants is done in Moss Point, Miss.

F-16 radar urgently requested

The Air Force's F-16s used for homeland protection need radar upgrades urgently, according to the commander of the First Air Force at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. These are upgrades the service put off due to funding restrictions. The First Air Force, the numbered Air Force with sole responsibility of ensuring air superiority and air sovereignty of the U.S., recently filed the urgent operational need request with the Air Force Requirements Council for fiscal 2015 funding for its Aerospace Control Alert mission, Air Force Times has learned. The request now being considered, specifically for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Block 30 F-16s, seeks the installation of the Northrop Grumman APG-83 SABR active electronically scanned array radar. The radar was part of the combat avionics program extension suite that the Air Force dropped from its fiscal 2015 and 2016 budget requests both because of budget shortfalls. The First Air Force, part of the Air Combat Command, has subordinate units throughout the United States. (Source: Air Force Times, 03/05/15)

Aviation career fair scheduled

MOBILE, Ala. – Alabama Aviation Center will hold its second Aviation Career Fair and Open House March 13. It's the center’s second career fair in five months. Ten employers and recruiters from the Air National Guard and Air Force will be on hand. The career fair is coordinated by the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council and the aviation center of Enterprise State Community College. The Alabama Aviation Center is at 1975 Avenue C at the Mobile Aeroplex. (Source: al.com, 03/05/15)

Contract: Lockheed, $8.2M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded an $8,225,563 modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract (N00019-12-C-0004) for the procurement and delivery of electronic components 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 Fort Worth and is expected to be completed in March 2016. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement (Air Force); fiscal 2013 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps and Navy) and international partner funds in the amount of $8,225,563 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire this fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force (59.4 percent); the U.S. Navy (18.7 percent); U.S. Marine Corps (12.5 percent); and international partners (9.4 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/04/15) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Aero Sekur picks Pensacola

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Aero Sekur, specialist in helicopter lift-raft and flotation systems, is relocating its U.S. subsidiary from Parsippany, N.J., to a Pensacola location that's three times larger. The move provides the company with an 8,000 square-foot facility for its administrative offices, maintenance repair and overhaul operations and spare parts buildings. The site on Herman Street is west of Interstate 110 and north of Town and Country Plaza. There was no indication of how many jobs will be involved. Aero Sekur specializes in safety systems and advanced flexible structures for the global aerospace and defense markets. Aero Sekur is headquartered in Italy. (Sources: multiple, including Aero Sekur via AviationPros, 03/27/15, Rick's Blog, Pensacola News Journal, Community Economic Development Association of Pensacola and Escambia County, 03/04/15)

Contract: UTC, $7M

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $7,067,175 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-14-C-0026) for retrofit modifications to the F-135 propulsion system, including production thrust recovery and integrated power package manifold. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is expected to be completed in December 2016. Fiscal 2013 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $3,568,757 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force (50 percent); the U.S. Navy (49 percent); and the international partners (1 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/03/15) Gulf Coast note: The F135 is used in the F-35. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 Integrated Training Center.

Contract: Bell, $8.4M

Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Hurst, Texas, is being awarded an $8,431,030 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0022) to exercise an option for delivery of one Bell 407 Analog Helicopter, and preservation and storage of seven aircraft in support of the endurance upgrade of the MQ-8C Fire Scout. Work will be performed in Ozark, Ala., and is expected to be completed in September 2015. Fiscal 2015 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,431,030 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/03/15) Gulf Coast note: Final assembly of the Fire Scout is done at Moss Point, Miss.

Passenger counts up

Three airports in Northwest Florida had more passengers in January 2015 than in the same month a year earlier. The newly renamed Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport at Eglin Air Force Base had an 8.56 percent increase. Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport near Panama City had a 5.83 percent increase and Pensacola International Airport had an increase of 4.5 percent. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 03/02/15)

Contract: L-3 Vertex, $8.8M

L-3 Communications, Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., has been awarded a $8,819,740 modification for F-16 aircraft maintenance for Taiwan. Work will be performed at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., and is expected to be complete by Feb. 29, 2016. This contract involves foreign military sales. The 338th Specialized Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-09-C-0006). (Source: DoD, 03/02/15)

Two airlines to begin new service

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Agreements have been finalized with United Airlines and Silver Airways to begin service at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in this month. Starting Thursday, United Express will begin daily service to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Silver Airways is set to kick off service to Orlando and Tampa March 19. The airport is in West Bay, northwest of Panama City. (Source: News Herald, 03/01/15)

Eglin demo results in HIT

An operator demonstrates HIT.
Sensor Concepts photo

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The F-35 Joint Program Office has asked Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to start an initial low-rate production of a new hand-held imaging tool (HIT) that will be able to check the surface of a plane to verify the plane's health. The Air Force currently uses a 1,200-pound piece of equipment and needs two operators and three hours. To find a more efficient system, AFRL through a Small Business Innovation Research contract managed as an Advanced Technology Demonstration Program, developed HIT, a portable, non-destructive method to inspect an aircraft. It consists of a handheld unit of less than seven pounds and an 11-pound backpack that can image 100 percent of an aircraft’s surface in 15 minutes. A demonstration at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in late 2014 led to the culmination of a five-year research effort. (Source: Air Force Research Lab Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, 03/01/15)