Eglin, Tyndall eyed for MQ-9 wing

Florida's Eglin Air Force Base and Tyndall AFB are among four sites being considered to host unmanned MQ-9 Reaper aircraft. The other two are Vandenberg AFB, Calif., and Shaw AFB, S.C. The selected base would host a wing of 24 Reapers. The Air Force also is looking at five bases to host mission control operations. The Air Combat Command is to conduct on-site surveys at the bases, and could selected preferred locations as early as the winter of 2016. Currently the Air Force flies about 60 drone missions per day, but that figure is expected to increase. (Source: AFNS, 09/09/16) Previous related

Contract: Raytheon, $49M

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., has been awarded a $49,210,994 fixed-price incentive firm contract (FA8672-16-C-0001) to exercise an option on previously awarded contract FA8672-10-C0002 for Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) Increment II Lot 2 production. Contractor will provide SDB II weapons and containers. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2018. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/08/16)

Contract: Raytheon, $8M

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., has been awarded a $7,952,646 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for field team support services for Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) development test mission support including test planning, test operations, test reporting, and telemetry analysis. Contractor will provide ground tests, captive flight tests, and live fire tests conducted for developmental purposes up to and including operational test readiness reviews. It also includes management and maintenance of AMRAAM separation test vehicles and other assets used for the test programs. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.; Utah Test and Training Range, Utah; White Sands Missile Range, N.M.; Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif.; Edward Air Force Base, Calif.; Nevada Test and Training Range, Nev.; and Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 8, 2017. This contract involves foreign military sales. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity (FA8675-16-C-0067). (Source: DoD, 09/08/16)

Contract: L-3, $13M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded $13,092,119 for modification P00020 to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery requirements, firm-fixed price, cost-reimbursable contract (N00019-12-D-0016) to exercise an option for maintenance, repair, and logistics support for the Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft’s intermediate maintenance departments located at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla.; and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. Support to be provided includes labor, equipment, tools, services, and direct and indirect material. Work will be performed at NAS Pensacola (60 percent); and NAS Corpus Christi (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2017. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/08/16)

Contract: Lockheed, $10M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $10,019,765 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-13-C-0008) to exercise an option to procure additional diminishing manufacturing sources electronic components in support of the F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth and is expected to be completed in December 2018. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force (49 percent); Marine Corps (28.38 percent), and Navy (13.13 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting authority. (Source: DoD, 09/08/16) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center and reprogramming lab.

Eglin seeks developer ideas

Northwest Florida's Eglin Air Force Base is looking for developers with ideas for a 50-acre property in Fort Walton Beach near the Okaloosa County Courthouse. An appraisal found it would be a good location for mixed-use development. Eglin is hosting an Industry Day at 9 a.m. Sept. 28 at the Holiday Inn Resort on Okaloosa Island to provide information about the property with developers, realtors, builders, architects and others. The project follows the successful development of the 152-room, beachfront Holiday Inn Resort by Gulf Breeze-based Innisfree Hotels on Eglin-owned property in 2014. Innisfree shares some of the revenue with the military. Glenn Wagner, director of real estate for the base, said some of the land – Eglin owns more than 460,000 acres – is underutilized and not necessary for the mission. The Holiday Inn Resort was the base's first attempt to partner with private business for development of the unused land and was so successful, Innisfree is building a 175-room Hilton Garden Inn next door, Wagner said. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 09/07/16)

Mobile builds first Spirit jetliner

MOBILE, Ala. -- The first Airbus A321 aircraft produced for Spirit Airlines in the Airbus U.S. Manufacturing Facility flew for the first time Tuesday. The jetliner took off from the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley and had a 3.5-hour test flight. The aircraft will go through a couple more weeks of final production before being delivered to Spirit Airlines. It’s the 10th Airbus jetliner built at the new Mobile assembly line. The first plane was delivered in April to JetBlue. (Source: Airbus, 09/06/16)

Eglin to host anti-drone tests

Eglin Air Force Base will be the site this year of a major test of technologies to detect, identify, track and defeat or disable unmanned systems. The tests, the 2016 edition of Black Dart, will be Sept. 11 to 23, according to Breaking Defense. Formerly classified, the counter-drone program is expanding to Eglin in search of more space and more capabilities, including ships. The program is run by the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization (JIAMDO). Two Aegis destroyers will take part in this year’s exercise, said Navy Lt. Cdr. Ryan Leary, the exercise’s director. (Source: Breaking Defense, 09/02/16)

Marines test bombs at Eglin

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Three F-35Bs and 75 personnel from the Marine's Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., along with 21 members of Edwards' JSF Operational Test Team, completed a 22-day deployment Sept. 1 at Eglin. They were at Eglin to complete five AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile and one GBU-12 aerial laser-guided bomb test shots. The deployment was to further validate and develop tactics, techniques and procedures for the three variants of the F-35. (Source: Sea Power, 09/01/16) Eglin is home of the F-35 integrated training center and reprogramming lab.

Contract: UTC, $38.5M

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded $38,459,410 for modification P00010 to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract (N00019-14-C-0004) for sustainment program administrative labor in support of the F-35 low-rate initial production Lot IX procurement. This modification provides for program administrative labor in support of F-135 sustainment efforts. Work will be performed in East Hartford (85 percent); and Indianapolis, Ind. (15 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2019. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force (38 percent); international partners (26 percent); Navy/Marine Corps (21 percent); and foreign military sales (FMS) customers (15 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/01/16) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center and reprogramming lab.

Contract: Lockheed, $18M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded an $18,000,000 fixed-price-incentive, firm-target modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-16-C-0033). This modification provides for long lead time materials, parts, components and effort required to maintain the planned production schedule for one F-35A low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 11 aircraft, and two F-35A and one F-35B LRIP Lot 12 aircraft for a non-U.S. Department of Defense participant in the F-35 program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (55 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (15 percent); Warton, United Kingdom (10 percent); Orlando, Fla. (5 percent); Nashua, N.H. (5 percent); Baltimore, Md.(5 percent); and Cameri, Italy (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2021. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/01/16) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center and reprogramming lab.

A320 makes historic flight

A JetBlue A320 made history Wednesday when it made the first commercial flight between the United States and Cuba in more than a half-century. The Airbus jetliner, Flight 387, left Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and landed in the central city of Santa Clara after a 51-minute trip. U.S.-Cuba travel was curtailed during the 55-year-old trade embargo. Also Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the carriers selected to operate routes to Havana: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines. Carriers will serve the Cuban capital from Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando and Tampa. (Sources: Multiple, including AP via Chicago Tribune, USA Today, 08/31/16) Gulf Coast note: Airbus now makes A320 series jetliners in Mobile, Ala. JetBlue was the first customer to take delivery of an A321 in April 2016.

Contract: UTC, $7.4M

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $7,395,958 modification (00008) to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N00019-15-C-0004). This modification procures advanced spare parts and deployment spare part packages and initial spare 3BSM modules in support of the F-35 for the Marine Corps and Navy. Work will be performed in Hartford (62 percent); and Indianapolis, Ind. (38 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2019. This modification combines purchases for the Marine Corps $6,261,526 (85 percent); and the Navy $1,134,432 (15 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/31/16) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: DRS, $9.8M

DRS Training and Control Systems, LLC, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $9,757,139 firm-fixed-price contract to procure overhaul/upgrade of the AH-64 digital captive boresight harmonization kit for a minimum quantity of 25, maximum of 200. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 29, 2021. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-16-D-0038). (Source: DoD, 08/30/16)

Contract: Bell-Boeing, $32.4M

Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded a $32,401,348 modification to previously issued cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order 0026 placed against basic ordering agreement N00019-12-G-0006. This modification provides for software and hardware upgrades for 28 V-22 flight simulators for the U.S. Marine Corps (19 MV-22) and the U.S. Air Force (9 CV-22). Work will be performed in Chantilly, Va. (26 percent); Broken Arrow, Okla. (21 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (18 percent); St. Louis, Mo. (10 percent); Philadelphia, Pa. (5 percent); Mildenhall, United Kingdom (5 percent); Albuquerque, N.M. (4 percent); Clovis, N.M. (4 percent); Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (4 percent); Clifton, N.J. (2 percent); and Orlando, Fla. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2020. This modification combines purchase for the U.S. Air Force/Special Operations (71 percent) and the U.S. Navy (29 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/30/16)

Contract: L-3, $19.6M

L-3 Communications Corp. -Systems Field Support, Madison, Miss., has been awarded a $19,579,865 modification (P00044) to exercise the option on previously awarded contract FA8106-11-D-0002 for C-12 contractor logistics support. Work will be performed at Accra, Ghana; Andrews Air Force Base, Md.; Ankara, Turkey; Bangkok, Thailand; Bogota, Columbia; Brasilia, Brazil; Budapest, Hungary; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cairo, Egypt; Edwards AFB, Calif.; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Gaborone, Botswana; Holloman AFB, N.M.; Islamabad, Pakistan; Manila, Philippines; Nairobi, Kenya; Rabat, Morocco; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; San Angelo, Texas; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Yokota AB, Japan, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 31, 2017. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Okla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/30/16)

Contract: Lockheed, $28.2M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded $28,240,000 for modification P00001 to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-16-C-0004) for additional sustainment in support of Low Rate Initial Production Lot 10 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. Support to be provided includes non-air vehicle spares, support equipment, Autonomic Logistics Information System hardware and software upgrades, supply chain management, full mission simulators and non-recurring engineering services for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla. (79 percent); Redondo Beach, Calif. (10 percent); Fort Worth (9 percent), and Samlesbury, United Kingdom (2 percent), and is expected to be completed July, 2022. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (79 percent) and U.S Air Force (21 percent). This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304c(1) and Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Awarded August 26, 2016) (Source: DoD, 08/29/16) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: SDVE, $9.8M

SDVE, LLC, Andalusia, Ala., was awarded on June 8, 2016 a $9,800,000 indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for simplified acquisition of base engineering requirements. Contractor will provide simplified acquisition of base engineering requirements contract work including detailed task specifications that encompass most types of real property maintenance, repair, and minor construction work. Work will be performed at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., and is expected to be complete by June 7, 2021. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with seven offers received. Air Force Test Center, Arnold AFB, Tenn., is the contracting activity. (FA9101-16-D-0001) (Source: DoD, 08/29/16)

Jetliner makes emergency landing

A Southwest Airlines flight from New Orleans to Orlando made an emergency landing in Pensacola Saturday when one of its two engines failed. Oxygen masks dropped down and the plane shook for a while. One of the pilots came out after the incident to tell passengers that one of the engines was lost. None of the 99 passengers or five-member crew aboard the 737, flight 3472, was injured. (Sources: CNN, Washington Times, 08/27/16)

Contract: Cummings, $9.9M

Cummings Aerospace Inc., Huntsville, Ala., has been awarded a $9,902,752 firm-fixed price and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hardware, software, and design. This contract supports the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence & Munitions Test Improvement (CIMTIC) program. The location of performance is Huntsville and is expected to be complete by Aug. 25, 2017. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with three offers received. Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (FA2487-16-D-0145) (Source: DoD, 08/26/16)