Delta to add flights in PC

Delta Air Lines will add two additional flights per day with larger aircraft when the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport near Panama City, Fla., opens in late May. The airport executive director said the new jets will be 140-seat MD-88s. Delta currently uses Atlantic Southeast Airlines and its regional Bombardier Canadair jets in the 50- and 70-seat range. The new airport has a 10,000-foot runway. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 02/24/10)

Suit may be near settlement

The city of Valparaiso, Fla., and the Air Force may be close to settling a lawsuit filed almost a year ago, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. Nearby Eglin Air Force Base is slated to become home of the Joint Strike Fighter training center, but Valparaiso has been concerned about noise from the F-35. The city sued the Air Force in March 2009 over use of a runway near the city without consideration of other options. But the Valparaiso city attorney, without providing details, indicated a settlement may be near. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/25/10)

Stennis discusses AJ26 testing

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Stennis Director Gene Goldman today confirmed the center will test Aerojet AJ26 rocket engines for Orbital Sciences Corp. as part of a NASA partnership with the companies. Stennis operators have been modifying their E-1 Test Stand since last April for the AJ26 engines. Work has included construction of a 27-foot-deep flame deflector trench. The AJ26 Aerojet engines will power Orbital's Taurus II space launch vehicle for missions to supply the International Space Station. (Source: NASA, 02/24/10) See previous story.

Lawmakers briefed on tanker rules

WASHINGTON - Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn and other top officials briefed lawmakers today about the final terms for a $35 billion aerial tanker competition. Among the first were Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin and Sen. John McCain. Rep. Norm Dicks said the changes in the RFP are "rather minimal," and said the Air Force reduced requirements for the contract from 373 to 372. Sen. Jeff Session of Alabama said he was "disappointed," and Rep. Mike Rogers, also from Alabama, said, "I don't think it looks promising." (Source: Reuters, Bloomberg, AP via New York Times, 02/24/10) Gulf Coast note: Boeing and the Northrop Grumman/EADS team both want to build the tankers. Northrop/EADS would assemble them in Mobile, Ala. Northrop has threatened to pull out of the competition if the RFP, which it says favors the smaller Boeing tanker, is not changed.

Stennis awards contract

NASA's Stennis Space Center has awarded a contract to ASRC Research and Technology Solutions LLC, a small business in Greenbelt, Md., to provide information and technical services at the center. The two-year contract, which includes three one-year options, is valued at $54.5 million. The company will supply a broad range of information, technical, technology and applied science services. (Sources: Article Ant, UPI, 02/24/10)

Tanker terms to be released Wednesday

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers were told today that the Air Force will release final terms for the $35 billion tanker competition on Wednesday. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn, and Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter will brief lawmakers then hold a news conference at the Pentagon. Boeing and the Northrop Grumman/EADS team both want to build the tankers. (Source: Reuters, 02/23/10) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman and partner EADS want to assemble tankers in Mobile, Ala.

Gates expects two tanker bids

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that he expects two parties to bid on the Air Force tanker project, according to Reuters. The final tanker requirements will be released as soon as Tuesday, but no later than the end of the month. The Northrop Grumman/EADS team, which sees the draft request for proposals as favoring the smaller Boeing plane, has threatened not to bid. Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Gregoire of Washington state and the governors of eight other states that stand to gain with a Boeing win were in Washington D.C., Monday pulling for a Boeing win. They announced the formation of "U.S. Tanker 2010" at the National Press Club. While that was going on, a new effort was launched to push for awarding the contract to both Boeing and Northrop. It's called BuildThemBoth.com, which claims 100,000 U.S. jobs would be created by building two different tankers. (Sources: Reuters, Everett Herald, Seattle Times, 02/22/10). Gulf Coast note: The tankers would be assembled in Washington state with a Boeing win and Mobile, Ala., with a Northrop/EADS win.

Airport traffic declines

MOBILE, Ala. - Passenger traffic at Mobile Regional Airport in 2009 almost broke even compared to 2008. Nearby neighbors did not fare as well, with Mississippi's Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and Florida's Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport both suffering declines steeper than the national average. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 02/21/10)

F-35 operational date re-evaluated

The Air Force is re-evaluating when the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be ready for service. That's what Air Combat Command chief Gen. William Fraser told reporters Friday at an Air Force Association-sponsored conference in Orlando, Fla. Fraser said the program restructuring announced Feb. 1 will extend the plane's system design and development phase until 2015, two years after the Air Force had planned to begin operating the aircraft. (Source: Defense News, 02/19/10) Meanwhile, a Lockheed Martin vice president said at the symposium that the U.S. Air Force officially becomes the first F-35 customer later this year when the first of the stealth fighters is delivered to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Steve O'Bryan, Lockheed Martin vice president of F-35 Business Development and Customer Engagement, said the first two production F-35s are in final assembly at Lockheed's plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The Air Force plans to operate 1,763 F-35As. (Source: PRNewswire, 02/19/10)

Contract: Hansel Phelps, $37.6M

Hensel Phelps Construction, Orlando, Fla., was awarded a $37,583,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Special Forces complex Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. This project will require construction of the primary facilities. Work is to be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 8, 2011. U.S. Corps of Engineers, Mobile Regional Contracting Center, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/19/10)

ST Engineering profits down

Singapore Technologies Engineering said profit fell 6 percent for the year as the firm's aerospace division struggled with the worldwide recession. Profit fell to $314.5 million while revenue grew 4 percent for the year to $3.93 billion. The company is the parent of ST Aerospace Mobile, which employs 1,300 at Mobile's Brookley Field Industrial Complex in Alabama, and VT Halter Marine, which employs 1,100-plus at shipyards in Pascagoula, Moss Point and Escatawpa, Miss. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 02/19/10)

New tanker battleground

A Northrop Grumman team was in North Carolina Wednesday to enlist the state as an ally in the battle to build Air Force tankers. Boeing and Northrop both want to win a $40 billion contract to build tankers. Northrop won the contract two years ago, but Boeing successfully had it overturned. Northrop has said it won't submit a bid if the current draft for proposal, which it says favors the smaller Boeing plane, isn't changed. The Northrop team told state officials a Northrop/EADS win would mean 1,500 jobs in the state. Rep. Pryor Gibson said that if Northrop's numbers are true, he'll write to the Pentagon and White House in support. (Source: Raleigh News Observer, 02/18/10) Meanwhile, the Air Force is bracing for a possible sole-source bid from Boeing. Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, military deputy in charge of acquisition for the Air Force, said the Pentagon is following a policy of "don't change anything that potentially favors one competitor over another." The Pentagon expects to release the final terms for the competition between Feb. 23 and the end of the month. (Source: Reuters, 02/18/10) Gulf Coast note: The Northrop and EADS plans to assemble the planes in Mobile, Ala., if they win the contract.

Global Hawk sets flight mark

The RQ-4 Global Hawk surpassed 30,000 combat flying hours and 1,500 combat sorties Feb. 10 during deployment in Southwest Asia. The Global Hawks are assigned to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., and provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance collection capability to support joint combatant forces. The 380th AEW Global Hawks reached their 1,500th combat sortie on Feb. 10. The RQ-4 arrived to its deployed location in October 2001 as a test platform. (Source: AFNS, 02/18/10) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part at the Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss.

Third test F-35B now at Patuxent River

A third F-35B Joint Strike Fighter has arrived at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., to begin testing. The short takeoff/vertical landing joins two other F-35B aircraft at the naval base. The jet, known as BF-3, took off from Fort Worth, Texas Wednesday and arrived at NAS Patuxent River three hours and 10 minutes later. The plane will be used to evaluate vehicle systems and will also focus on weapons testing. It will carry and release most of the weapons the F-35B will use in combat. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 02/17/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will be the Joint Strike Fighter training center.

SBIRS hits milestone

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Lockheed Martin said it's achieved a key integrated test milestone on the second Space-Based Infrared System geosynchronous orbit satellite. SBIRS is designed to provide early warning of missile launches and support other missions. The GEO-2 satellite completed its first phase of Baseline Integrated System Test, which establishes a performance baseline for the remainder of the test program. The spacecraft is planned for launch aboard an Atlas V in 2012. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 02/16/10) Gulf Coast note: Lockheed Martin Mississippi Space and Technology Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss., builds subsystems for the SBIRS.

Fire Scout shows resupply capability

Northrop Grumman demonstrated that its MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter can resupply troops deployed on a combat mission. The company conducted the autonomous proof-of-principle resupply capability during the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment at Fort Benning, Ga. The Fire Scout had two ruggedized containers attached to external pylons. Fire Scout flew autonomously from take-off to the cargo drop to landing. The Fire Scout also used its electro-optical/infrared optical payload during the mission to practice reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition techniques. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 02/15/10) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.; the Army recently dropped plans to buy Fire Scouts, though the Navy still has an active program.

Airborne laser downs missile

Boeing and Northrop Grumman may be locked in battle over the Air Force tanker project, but they were both cheering a test where a Boeing 747 equipped with a Northrop Grumman laser gun shot down a missile over the Pacific late Thursday night. It was a milestone in the development of the nation's missile defense system. (Sources: Multiple, including Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, 02/12/10) Gulf Coast note: Both companies have operations along the Gulf Coast region.

Global Hawk continues Haiti work

An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft has flown six missions and provided more than 3,600 images of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and other areas damaged by the Jan. 12 earthquake and aftershocks. The day after the quake, an Air Force Block 10 Global Hawk was diverted by the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., from its trip en-route to support wartime operations in Afghanistan to assist in relief efforts. Since then it's been operating out of Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 02/12/10) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

AGT one of two NASA award winners

NASA presented its highest honor for quality and performance, the George M. Low Award, to two companies during NASA's seventh annual Project Management Challenge in Galveston, Texas. The winners were United Space Alliance of Houston and Applied Geo Technologies of Choctaw, Miss. Tribally owned AGT provides scientific, laboratory and geographic analysis services, maintains measurement standards and calibrates and repairs instrumentation at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss. AGT received the award in the small business service category. United Space Alliance provides a variety of services at Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center. (Source: PRNewswire, 02/10/10)

Certification test of RS-68A begins

Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne has completed the initial step in certifying the RS-68A rocket engine by successfully hot-fire testing the first certification engine. The RS-68A is an upgrade of the RS-68, a liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen booster engine that will provide increased thrust and improved fuel efficiency for the Delta IV family of launch vehicles. During the hot-fire test at Stennis Space Center, Miss., the first RS-68A certification engine successfully burned for 190 seconds, with operating time split between 102 percent and 55 percent power levels. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne will hot-fire test the first RS-68A certification engine a minimum of 12 times through February and follow that with a similar series of hot-fire tests on its second certification engine in March and April. (Source: Pratt and Whitney, 02/10/10)