Task force meets

A task force formed to protect Florida's military bases, in particular its role in research, development, test and evaluation, met for the first time Monday in Tallahassee. Northwest Florida's David Goetsch was named to chair the 12-member Florida Defense Support Task Force when Gov. Rick Scott isn't available. The group decided it needs to move quickly in light of the announced consolidation of the Air Force Material Command. Among other things, the consolidation eliminates Eglin Air Force Base's Air Armament Center and places the base's 46th Test Wing under the command of a two-star general at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The overriding concern is these are steps towards moving the wing to Edwards. The task force wants to ensure Eglin maintains its valuable RDT&E mission. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 01/09/12)

Engine prepped for SSC

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Kennedy Space Center has invited the media to be on hand Thursday, Jan. 12, for a photo opportunity as one of the space shuttle man engines is prepared for shipment to Stennis Space Center, Miss. Each engine, built by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, is 14 feet long and more than 7 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. All 15 of the SSMEs will be sent to SSC, where they'll be stored for use on NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System. (Source: Kennedy Space Center, 01/09/12) Previous SSME story

KSC takes on new role

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Work is ramping up at the Orion spacecraft facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., expanding the spaceport's role beyond launch operations to include final assembly. Tooling to assemble the spacecraft is being put in place in the renovated high bay, first erected for the Apollo project. About 260 people already work on Orion at KSC. The number will increase to about 400 by June in preparations for the first flight test in early 2014. (Source: Florida Today, 01/07/12) Gulf Coast note: Technicians at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, are putting the finishing touches on the second Orion capsule, and will also be doing work on portions of the Space Launch System. "Orion will use MAF for construction of the crew module and other portions. KSC will be used for final assembly of the entire spacecraft," said Jennifer Morcone Stanfield, public affairs officer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

RR to add new test stand

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Rolls-Royce North America is adding a second jet engine test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, a company investment of at least $50 million. The announcement was made Monday by Gov. Haley Barbour. Rolls-Royce currently employs 45 workers at the initial test stand operation, and the new stand will add 35 additional jobs. James M. Guyette, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce North America, said this type of public-private partnership "make it possible for us to invest in America and compete in a global economy." Headquartered in Reston, Va., Rolls-Royce North America opened its Outdoor Jet Engine Testing Facility at SSC in 2007, the first outside the United Kingdom. Testing at SSC includes noise, crosswind, thrust reverse, cyclic and endurance testing on all current Rolls-Royce engine types. (Source: Mississippi Development Authority, 01/09/12)

Contract: Raytheon, $11M

Raytheon Co., El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded an $11,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for robust navigation technology. This contract supports anti-jam Global Positioning System development for the High Velocity Penetrating Weapon Program. The objective of this program is to study, investigate, simulate, develop, design, build, and demonstrate technologies capable of operating in a GPS degraded environment. This effort shall provide enough design flexibility to allow for integration with other advanced technologies to help maintain position, navigation, and timing when GPS is denied. The location of the performance is El Segundo, Calif., and is expected to be completed during December 2013. AFRL/RWK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 01/06/12)

Contract: UT, $194M

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $194,097,296 advance acquisition contract with fixed-price line items for long lead components, parts, and materials required for the delivery of 37 propulsion systems for the Lot VI F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program (18 conventional take-off and landing for the Air Force; six short take-off and vertical landing for the Marine Corps; seven carrier variant for the Navy; four CTOL for the Italian Air Force; two CTOL for the Royal Australian Air Force; and associated spares). Work will be performed in East Hartford, Conn.; Bristol, United Kingdom; and Indianapolis, Ind., and is expected to be completed in September 2012. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (19.1 percent), the U.S. Marine Corps (43.6 percent), the U.S. Air Force (28.3 percent), and the governments of Italy (6 percent) and Australia (3 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 01/06/12)

F-35 runway decision delayed

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Air Force has postponed until 2013 where at the Eglin reservation the F-35 training will take place and which runways will be used. The reassessment of the impact of flight training is due to changes in operational tables, or how aircraft will be used, including the number and types of takeoffs, landing and sorties. The reassessment will include a second Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and another round of public hearings. The first SEIS in 2010 listed Duke Field, Choctaw Field and Eglin main as possible locations for the bed-down. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 01/05/12)

New defense strategy released

The new U.S. military strategy calls for a leaner military, reducing lower-priority forces and duplicative operations and ending the practice of maintaining a force that can fight and win in two theaters. The report, released at a press conference Thursday, calls for investments in special forces and technological innovation, including cyber defense. The new strategy streamlines the military in an era of tighter budgets and reassesses defense priorities in light of China's rise and other global changes. Some leaders on Capitol Hill were critical. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said it's not the strategy for a superpower but "more a menu for mediocrity." Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the announcement sends a signal to friend and foe alike about "America's diminished ability to project power on a global scale." (Sources: multiple, including CBS/AP, USA Today, Palm Beach Post, 01/05/12) Gulf Coast note: The Gulf Coast region has multiple military bases, including those involved in cyber security and special operations.

F-35 program set to restructure

The Pentagon is set to restructure F-35 program for a third time in three years, sources told Reuters, with production of more than 120 planes delayed to save money and allow more time for development. The Pentagon had planned for 423 planes from 2013 through 2017, excluding international orders. Those foreign orders could offset the impact of the restructuring on Lockheed. Japan plans to buy 42 F-35s and Turkey said Thursday it will buy two, according to Bloomberg. Israel also said it would buy F-35s. Lockheed is building the F-35 for the United States and eight international partners: Britain, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, the Netherlands, Italy and Canada. Lockheed estimates it could sell 800 to 1,500 F-35s internationally. (Sources: Reuters, 01/04/12, Bloomberg, 01/05/12) Gulf Coast note: A spokesman for the Pentagon's F-35 program office said an F-35B, the first short-takeoff production plane, is scheduled to arrive Friday at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. It had been expected to arrive last month. Previous post

F-15 deal brings in Saudi students

Saudi Arabia's $29.4 billion deal to buy 84 F-15SA fighters and upgrade a fleet of 70 F-15S aircraft will bring additional students to three bases in the Gulf Coast: Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. The Saudi students also will train at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and will receive English language training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. In 2012, the service expects to train more than 300 Saudi airmen under the agreement. The Air Force has been training members of the Royal Saudi Air Force on U.S. soil for more than 25 years. (Source: AFNS and 81st Training Wing, 01/04/12)

35 years of accreditation

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training at Naval Air Station Pensacola is celebrating 35 years of accreditation by the Council on Occupational Education. The council is a nonprofit serving post-secondary education and training institutions to provide quality assurance reviews of workforce training programs. CNATT provides operational and maintenance training, including all facets of aviation maintenance and support. Courses cover maintenance and repair of avionics and electronics; rotary and fixed wing aircraft engines and structures; ordnance maintenance and support, flight deck operations and firefighting, crash and salvage training; shore and shipboard air traffic control; and radar operations and repair. (Source: NNS, 01/04/12)

Creativity saved AEHF

For months military personnel tried to save the Advanced Extremely High Frequency 1 satellite after it failed to launch into geosynchronous orbit in 2010. Valued at over $1 billion, AEHF 1 is the first in a series of nuclear-survivable spacecraft designed to ensure American leadership with communications and was launched in August 2010. But when debris in the propellant line prevented the Liquid Apogee Engine from firing, the satellite seemed doomed to remain in the transfer orbit. But after more than a year, the satellite was coaxed into orbit thanks to engineering creativity. The team used smaller hydrazine thrusters to lift the orbit a bit, then electric thrusters were used in a way never planned: fired for days, weeks and months to push AEHF 1 into a circular geosynchronous orbit on Oct. 24, 2011. (Source: Spaceflight, 01/03/12) Gulf Coast note: The Lockheed Martin AEHF satellite's core propulsion module is built at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous post

Airport air centers sold

MOBILE, Ala. -- Florida-based Signature Flight Support Corp. has acquired Azalea Aviation's operations at Mobile Regional Airport and Downtown Air Center at Brookley Aeroplex from Taylor and Harris Morrissette. Taylor Morrissette will remain with Signature to oversee the two centers. Azalea Aviation, which operates executive terminals at both locations, has fueling infrastructure and more than 100,000 square feet of hangar space between its two locations. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/04/12)

Boeing leaving Wichita

WICHITA, Kan. -- Boeing plans to close its Wichita facility by the end of 2013 and move the work to other sites, employees were told Wednesday, according to the Wichita Eagle. Boeing, which has been in Wichita 80 years, had previously said Wichita would become the finishing center for Air Force tankers if Boeing beat EADS in the contest for the contract. Kansas officials supported Boeing over EADS, which planned to build the tankers in Mobile, Ala. (Source: Wichita Eagle 01/04/12)

Larger Fire Scout funded

Congressional appropriators set aside $191 million for the Navy to buy a dozen long-range variants of the Northrop Grumman Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. Called the Fire-X during development, the Fire Scout MQ-8C uses a Bell 407 airframe in place of the smaller Schweizer 333 of the MQ-8B. The newer Fire Scout uses many of the systems of the smaller version, which is now a part of the Navy fleet. The Navy and Northrop are working out details of the deal to buy the C model, which can fly further and carry a larger payload. (Source: AOL Defense, 01/03/11) Gulf Coast note: The MQ-8B version is built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Blue Angels back in El Centro

EL CENTRO, Calif. - The Navy's Blue Angels are back in El Centro, Calif., for winter training. The flight demonstration squadron left home base at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., Tuesday and arrived at El Centro after a three-hour flight. The team will train in Southern California over the next couple of months. (Source: Imperial Valley Weekly, 01/04/12)

More flights to DC slated

US Airways is expanding jet service in Northwest Florida with three new flights beginning March 25. The airline will provide two daily nonstop flights from Pensacola International Airport and one daily flight from Fort Walton Beach's Northwest Florida Regional Airport to Washington Reagan National Airport. The airline said the new service is the result of more than two years of negotiations with the FAA and DOT. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, WEAR-TV, 01/03/12)

UT shakes up aerospace field

United Technologies made some bold business moves in 2011, analysts say. It acquired Goodrich, creating a "super-supplier" with a vast product line, and unveiled a joint venture between subsidiary Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce. One analyst said the Goodrich buy is a sizable bet on commercial aerospace. UT CEO Louis R. Chenevert was chosen by Aviation Week editors as the person who had the most impact on the industry in 2011. (Source: Aviation Week, 12/30/11) Gulf Coast note: Goodrich operates the Alabama Service Center in Foley, Ala.; Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne assembles and tests rocket engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Rolls-Royce tests commercial aircraft engines at SSC.

Major cuts require notice

The Defense Department will be required to provide Congress two weeks notice before reducing by more than 1,000 the number of military personnel at an installation, under language in the final version of the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill approved by Congress last month. DoD also will need to submit a justification and evaluation of the local strategic and operational impact of the reduction in forces. The requirement will not apply during a BRAC round. (Source: Defense Communities 360, 01/02/12) Gulf Coast note: The Gulf Coast is home to multiple military bases, including aviation-related activities.

AF picks Super Tucano

A-29 Super Tucano. PRNewswire photo

The Air Force chose the A-29 Super Tucano as the light air support aircraft, according to Sierra Nevada Corp. of Sparks, Nev., and Brazil's Embraer. The planes will be built at Jacksonville International Airport in Jacksonville, Fla. The $355 million contract is for 20 aircraft, training and support. The single-engine turboprop planes will be used in Washington’s partner building efforts in Afghanistan and other nations. The planes are for advanced flight training, aerial reconnaissance and light air support. Embraer also has a facility in Melbourne, Fla., that assembles executive jets. Last week Hawker Beechcraft of Wichita, Kan., filed suit against the Air Force to negate a November decision to excluse the Beechcraft AT-6 from the competition. (Source: PRNewswire, 12/30/11) Gulf Coast note: Jacksonville is on the eastern end of Interstate 10.