Pentagon big on UAVs

The fiscal 2010 Pentagon budget unveiled Thursday held no surprises since Defense Secretary Robert Gates in early April previewed what it would include. As expected, the budget provides a good deal of money for unmanned aerial systems. It has $1.45 billion for five Air Force Global Hawks high-altitude UAVs, as well as funding for five Fire Scout unmanned helicopters for the Navy. The Pentagon also plans on buy Ravens for the Army and Shadows for the Marines. The Predator is giving way to the more advanced Reaper. The budget also includes $400 million to restart the competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS for the aerial tanker project. (Source: Multiple, 05/07/09) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks and Fire Scouts are made in part at the Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss.; Northrop/EADS plan to build the tanker in Mobile, Ala., if they win the competition.

Pentagon: Kill alternative F-35 engine

The Pentagon is killing the alternate engine program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in the fiscal 2010 defense budget request. The move ends funding for the F136 General Electric/Rolls-Royce engine, leaving funding only for Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine. But lawmakers have restored funding every time the Pentagon has sought to cut it in the past. (Source: Aviation Week, 05/07/09) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will become home to the Joint Strike Fighter Training Center.

UAV runway work begins

MOSS POINT, Miss. – Work has begun on a new taxiway linking Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center to Trent Lott International Airport's runway. The 419-foot-long project should be finished within two weeks, said Carol Snapp, the airport's executive director. With Taxiway C3 in place, Northrop can begin product flight tests of Fire Scout unmanned helicopters, said site manager Bryan Mahoney. (Source: Mississippi Press, 05/07/07)

Northrop awards suppliers

A Pensacola company was among 130 suppliers nationwide honored by Northrop Grumman this week. The suppliers provide Northrop’s Aerospace Systems sector with products ranging from aircraft parts to electronics for spacecraft, as well as everyday services. Johnson Supply Co., which supplies coatings and sealants, was among 62 platinum award winners for 2008. The company also recognized 11 top suppliers and 56 gold award winner. (Source: Globe Newswire, 05/06/09)

EADS appoints tanker program chief

EADS North America appointed Michael Cosentino as vice president and program manager, tanker programs. He’ll work closely with Northrop Grumman on the KC-45 tanker and oversee the company’s tanker program and engineering efforts in the United States. EADS North America and Northrop Grumman are competing against Boeing to replace the aging Air Force tanker fleet. The KC-45 will be built in Mobile, Ala., if the Northrop/EADS team wins. (Source: EADS North America, 05/05/09)

Constellation review expected

The Obama administration this week may order a review of the spacecraft program NASA hoped would replace the space shuttle, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The review would examine whether the Ares I rocket and Orion capsule are the best options to send astronauts into orbit by 2015. The review of the Constellation program could be finished by fall. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 05/06/09) Gulf Coast note: Any changes in NASA programs are crucial for Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Court won't block airport

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - A court denied a bid to block a new airport from being built. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied a pending petition for review of the Federal Aviation Administration's Record of Decision approving relocation of the Panama City - Bay County International Airport to a new site. The National Resources Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife and Friends of PFN argued against the FAA and airport on Jan. 23, 2008. The new airport is under construction with an expected opening of May 2010. It’s being built on 4,000 acres donated by The St. Joe Company. (Source: Business Wire, 05/05/09)

Moss Point UAV plant gets added role

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - A Navy contract will establish the Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point as a service center for Fire Scout unmanned helicopters. The Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a contractor logistics support contract valued at $5 million the first year, with options for three more years that will total $19 million. It’s the first step to a long term MQ-8B Fire Scout maintenance program. The center, which also builds portions of the Fire Scout and Global Hawk, will provide maintenance and periodic upgrades for the MQ-8B. The contract also includes operational and maintenance training. (Source: Globe Newswire, 05/05/09)

Shuttle tank heads to Florida

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The space shuttle's latest external fuel tank built by Lockheed Martin at the Michoud Assembly Facility is heading for Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The tank, constructed by using friction stir welding, will be used in the August launch of Discovery. The 15-story tall tank left New Orleans by barge on Friday. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 05/05/09)

Osprey facing reliability issues

The Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation told Aerospace Daily that the MV-22 Osprey is facing reliability issues due to inaccurate predictive modeling. Lt. Gen. George Trautman said reliability and maintainability are “not meeting my full expectations yet.” He said it's become evident that early predictions of mean time between failures on certain parts were inaccurate. But he praised Bell Boeing for being engaged in working on the issues. (Source: Aviation Week, 05/04/09) Gulf Coast note: Air Force Special Operations at Hurlburt Field, Fla., uses the CV-22 variant.

Austal, Baldwin honored

Site Selection, a magazine that tracks economic development projects, recognized Austal USA and the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance in its May issue. Shipbuilder Austal received an honorable mention in the top North American deals category, and the Baldwin alliance received an honorable mention among Top Economic Development Groups of 2008. Recent alliance accomplishments include Segers Aero Corp., a $7 million project that created 100 new jobs. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/05/09)

Fire Scout completes key test

An MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter successfully completed fully autonomous flight operations onboard the USS McInerney. This follows at-sea operations aboard the USS Nashville, which included the first autonomous ship landings by a Navy unmanned aerial vehicle. The Fire Scout, which eventually will be deployed on littoral combat ships, is scheduled to deploy on the McInerney for its next counter-narcotics trafficking deployment later this year. The ship is based at Mayport Naval Station, Fla. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 05/04/09) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part at the Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss.; Austal USA builds a version of the LCS in Mobile, Ala.

Small-boat threat system tested

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - NetFires LLC, a joint venture between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, conducted the second captive flight test of the Non Line-of-Sight-Launch System Precision Attack Missile. The system is also one of the key Littoral Combat Ship mission modules to combat small-boat threats. The LCS Mission Module can fire as many as 45 PAM missiles from three container launch units. With a range greater than 25 miles, the PAM missile gives the LCS an increased surface warfare weapon capability. (Source: Raytheon, 05/04/09) Gulf Coast note: The Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., is building LCS ships for the Navy.

EADS, Lockheed team on new helo

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - EADS North America said today that American Eurocopter is teaming with Lockheed Martin to offer a next-generation, armed scout helicopter to the Army, the Armed Scout 645. The announcement was made at the Army Aviation Association of America’s 2009 Annual Convention. The 645 is based on the Eurocopter EC145 commercial airframe, the platform for the UH-72A Light Utility Helicopter. The Armed Scout 645 will be produced at EADS' American Eurocopter’s Columbus, Miss., facility, which also builds the UH-72A Lakota. (Source: EADS North America, 05/04/09) Gulf Coast note: EADS also operates an engineering center and maintenance center in Mobile, Ala., where it also hopes to assemble aerial tankers for the Air Force.

F-15 team marks final demo

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – The ACC’s Eglin-based "West Coast" F-15 demo team performed its last demonstration here Friday at the 33rd Fighter Wing Nomad reunion. Vintage P-51 Mustangs also performed. The 33rd has been one of the ACC's demonstration teams since the 1990s. The demonstration team originated from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., and moved to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., before settling at Eglin. "West Coast" was retained for heritage purposes. In addition to ending its demonstration team work, the Nomads are ending 30 years at Eglin in September to make way for the F-35 Joint Strike fighter training complex. ACC now has six demonstration teams left to showcase America's air power. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 05/02/09)

NASA layoffs begin

NASA is laying off 160 people in New Orleans and Utah, the first of 900 jobs that will be eliminated over the next months at NASA centers. NASA is preparing to retire its space shuttle fleet in 2010. The first notices went out Friday, mainly to contractors producing the space shuttle fuel tanks in New Orleans and shuttle solid rocket boosters in Utah. (Source: Multiple, 05/02/09)

AAC gets new commander

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Maj. Gen. Charles R. Davis assumed command of the Air Armament Center from Maj. Gen. David Eidsaune in a ceremony Friday. Davis most recently was executive officer for the F-35 Lightning II Program Office, in charge of developing and acquiring the F-35. The initial F-35 training school will be based at Eglin. Eidsaune will become director of operations of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 05/01/09)

Contract for Michoud awarded

NEW ORLEANS, La. - NASA selected Jacobs Technology of Tullahoma, Tenn., to receive the manufacturing support and facilities operations contract at the Michoud Assembly Facility. The contract value is $120.49 million for the base period, $40.11 million for option year one and $42.16 million for option year two. Jacobs Technology will manage the Michoud facility and provide support to its multiple NASA projects and other tenants. Michoud, a NASA-owned facility, is one of the world's largest manufacturing plants. (Source: PRNewswire, 05/01/09)

Murtha delays tanker split proposal

The Mobile Press-Register is reporting that language to force the Pentagon to buy tankers from both Boeing and Northrop Grumman won’t be included in this year's supplemental war spending bill. The newspaper says Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said he was abandoning his push to add language, but that he intends to make another push for the dual buy later this year. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 05/01/09; Wall Street Journal story on the topic) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman and its partner, EADS, plan to assemble the tankers in Mobile, Ala., if they win the contract.

Raytheon buys KillerBee rights

TUCSON, Ariz. - Raytheon has purchased rights to the technology and name of the KillerBee unmanned aircraft system from Northrop Grumman. Under the agreement, Raytheon will submit the KillerBee for the Navy and Marine Corps' Small Tactical UAS and Tier II competition. The KillerBee UAS features a blended-wing aircraft body design and has common systems for land or sea launch, recovery and ground control. The design of KillerBee enables growth for future payloads and additional mission capabilities. (Source: Raytheon, 05/01/09) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman and Raytheon both have operations in the Gulf Coast region.