AFSOC preps for cuts

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Air Force Special Operations Command will be required to implement spending cuts that will have substantial impact on its mission if sequestration takes effect March 1. The command has undertaken several actions to save money such as implementing a temporary civilian hiring freeze, releasing non-mission critical term and temporary employees, canceling non-mission critical travel, limiting supply purchases, reducing service contracts and other actions. (Source: AFSOC Public Affairs, 02/12/13)

Tyndall hosts visitors

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- More than 30 community leaders last week attended a briefing about the future arrival of an additional F-22 Raptor squadron. The purpose of briefing community leaders was to keep them informed of the changes the base is currently undergoing, the projected changes in the year ahead, fiscal responsibility and environmental protection. The F-22s are coming from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 02/11/13) Two days before that, 19 members from Bay County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Bay received a tour of Tyndall and its units. They were briefed on an F-22 Raptor ground instructional training aircraft, toured the 601st Air and Space Operations Center, flight tower and radar approach control. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 02/12/13)

RR wins V-22 engine contract

Rolls-Royce has been awarded an $83.7 million contract for engines to power 19 V-22 aircraft operated by the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force. The contract, a modification of a prior agreement, includes a total of 38 Rolls-Royce AE 1107C engines manufactured in Indianapolis, Ind. The contract was awarded through the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland. (Source: Business Wire, 02/12/13) Gulf Coast note: Air Force CV-22s operate out of Hurlburt Field, Fla.

NASA ready for new J-2X testing

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA's is getting ready for a new round of tests on the next-generation J-2X rocket engine that will help power the agency's Space Launch System to new destinations in the solar system. Beginning this month, engineers will conduct a series of tests on the second J-2X development engine, designated number 10002, on the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center. Once the series is completed, the engine will be transferred to the A-1 Test Stand to undergo a series of gimbal, or pivot, tests for the first time. NASA already has conducted successful tests on engine number 10001 and on the J-2X powerpack assembly. In total, 34 tests were conducted on the J-2X engine and powerpack, with the J-2X achieving a full flight-duration firing of 500 seconds in the eighth test, earlier than any rocket engine in U.S. history. (Source: NASA, 02/11/13) Previous

New warfare center welcomed

At a ceremony Monday, the Air Force dissolved the Special Operations Training Center at Hurlburt Field, Fla., and rolled its mission into the Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center. The new center will combine training and education with weapons testing and evaluation, as well as preparing airmen to deploy for counter-insurgency operations. The Air Warfare Center will oversee the missions of all the units that fell under the former training center at Hurlburt, and add the 919th Air Reserves Special Operations Wing at Duke Field, Fla., and two Air Guard units in Mississippi and Alabama. Headquarters for the Air Warfare Center will be at Hurlburt Field, with operating locations at Duke Field and Robins Air Force Base, Ga. About 850 active-duty and 900 reserve airmen will fall under the center's command. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/11/13)

NASA awards engineering contract

NASA selected Jacobs Technology Inc. of Tullahoma, Tenn., for an engineering, technology and science contract at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The cost-plus-award-fee services contract has a potential value of $1.93 billion, including options. Companies that will support Jacobs on this contract include HX5 of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Aerodyne Industries of Oldsmar, Fla.; Hamilton Sundstrand of Windsor Locks, Conn.; and Barrios Technology, ERC Inc., GeoControl Systems Inc., Oceaneering Space Systems and MRI Technologies, all of Houston. (Source: NASA, 02/08/13)

Contract: L-3, $57.1M

L-3 Communications Corp., Madison, Miss., was awarded a $57,141,401 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the Life-Cycle Contractor Support maintenance for the Army's fleet of C-12, RC-12 and UC-35 fixed-wing aircraft. Work will be performed in Madison, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2014. The Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/08/13)

Contract: Multiple, $7.8M

B3H, Shalimar, Fla.; Decypher -PSI Government Solutions, San Antonio, Texas; Monterey Consultants, Dayton, Ohio; Sawdey Solutions Services, Beavercreek, Ohio; and ExecuTech Strategic Consulting, Woodbridge, Va., are being awarded a $7,813,187 firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for advisory and assistance services for all multiple skill sets and tasks in support of Air Mobility Command and tenant units. The primary location of the performance is Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Work is expected to be completed by June 30, 2016. The contracting activity is AMC/A7KQA, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (Source: DoD, 02/08/13)

728th ACS has final mission

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 62-year-old 728th Air Control Squadron completed its final mission late last month and will have its official deactivation ceremony May 17. Air Combat Command early last year was directed to reduce its number of U.S. based Control and Reporting Centers from three to two. The 728th was selected for deactivation because it was not collocated with operational aircraft and live, air-to-air opportunities were limited here, according to a statement by the Secretary of the Air Force when the closure was announced. For the final mission, the 728th ACS provided communications and data to a sortie with four F-35s from the 33rd Fighter Wing. (Source: Team Eglin Public Affairs, 02/07/13)

ATK completes SLS test

NASA and ATK completed the second in a series of development tests for NASA's Space Launch System booster program late last month at ATK's Promontory, Utah, facility. The avionics and controls test, Flight Control Test 2, included a hot fire of the fully integrated heritage thrust vector control, the new SLS booster avionics subsystem and new electronic support equipment. FCT-2 focused on replacement of heritage test equipment with new electronic support equipment. Much of the equipment replaced was designed and built during the mid- to late-1970s and was successfully used on all Space Shuttle reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM) and five segment RSRM static motor firings. (Source: ATK, 02/01/13) Gulf Coast note: SLS engines will be tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.; the core stage of the SLS and the Orion launch vehicle are built at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans.

Fire Scout avionics gets shield

A protective cage to store and protect electronic components of the next-generation MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter has been received by Northrop Grumman. Known as a Faraday cage and produced by Summit Aviation, a Greenwich AeroGroup company, it shields aircraft electronic systems from possible electromagnetic interference. A total of 28 new MQ-8Cs will be built using a Bell 407 airframe. It's a larger, more capable version of the Fire Scout MQ-8B that is now serving aboard Navy ships and in Afghanistan. Prior to installation on the MQ-8C airframe, integration and testing of the Faraday cages will be done at the Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss. (Sources: Northrop Grumman, 01/31/13; Military & Aerospace Electronics, 02/01/13; naval-technology.com link, 02/04/13)

Pakistani officers visit EOD

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- A delegation of four Pakistani military officers toured the Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal recently for a familiarization trip and visit with students from Pakistan. The delegation from the Pakistani army and air force toured several divisions and practical training areas to observe the basic EOD training received by students. Each year up to 125 students from 94 countries attend NAVSCOLEOD, which provides high-risk, specialized, basic and advanced EOD training to more than 2,100 U.S. and partner nation military and selected U.S. government personnel each year. (Source: Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 02/06/13)

Vice commander visits Tyndall

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- To familiarize himself with the newest member of Air Combat Command, Lt. Gen. William Rew, ACC vice commander, paid Tyndall a visit from Jan. 31 through Feb. 1. Among other things, he visited 325th Fighter Wing Headquarters and the First Air Force, which ensures the air sovereignty of the continental United States, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. This was the general's initial visit since the transition from Air Education and Training Command to ACC, which occurred on Oct. 1, 2012. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 02/05/13)

Engine deal finalized

Reuters reports that Pratt & Whitney finalized a contract with the Pentagon for 32 engines to power a fifth batch of F-35s, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The agreement was reached after more than a year of negotiations. Pratt & Whitney agreeing to lower its price by about $20 million, said one of the sources. The Pentagon awarded PW a preliminary contract or "undefinitized contract action" valued at $1.12 billion for 30 engines in December 2011, and industry and military officials have been trying to work out the details since then. PW had an additional $9.5 million added to the preliminary contract in August 2012 for the two extra engines. (Source: Reuters, 02/04/13) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

Blue Angels at risk?

The Blue Angels flight demonstration team could be impacted by sequestration, Navy officials said. Air shows scheduled between April 1 and Sept. 30 would be canceled if the proposed military spending cuts known as sequestration become reality. That would save the Navy $20 million by canceling the shows in its fiscal third and fourth quarters. Lt. Katie Kelley, the public information officer for the Blue Angels, said the team is aware of the possible budget cuts but is continuing to prepare for the 2013 air show season. The Blue Angels are based at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. (Sources: Pensacola News Journal, WEAR-TV, 02/04/13)

Ribbon-cutting held for tower

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday for the Keesler Medical Center’s new Back Bay Tower. The tower contains state-of-the art medical and surgical inpatient wards, intensive care and recovery/peri-anesthesia care units as well as a new emergency department, physical-occupational therapy-chiropractic clinic, two new operating rooms and two cardiac catheterization labs. Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Kory Cornum, 81st Medical Group commander, also announced that the Keesler Hospital has been officially re-designated "Keesler Medical Center." (Source: Keesler, 02/01/13)

Airbus awards contract

Airbus has selected Birmingham, Ala.'s Hoar Program Management (HPM) to manage design and construction of the $600 million aircraft assembly plant that will be built in Mobile, Ala. Construction of the plant, which will assemble A320 aircraft at Brookley Aeroplex and employ about 1,000 workers, is expected to begin this summer. The first aircraft will be delivered in 2016. HPM has offices in Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile, Ala.; Houston, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Tampa, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C. (Sources: AL.com story, Airbus press release, 02/01/13)

LM joins Dream Chaser team

Lockheed Martin has joined Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser team, officials said last week. Jim Crocker, vice president and general manager for civil space at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., said the Sierra Nevada partnership will leverage Lockheed Martin's expertise in human spaceflight and composite aerospace structures. Lockheed Martin will assemble the composite structure for the first space-bound Dream Chaser vehicle at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The company will use composites developed for the F-22 and F-35 fighter planes, Crocker said. Sierra Nevada is developing the Dream Chaser under NASA's commercial crew program, vying to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. (Source: Spaceflight Now, 01/31/13)

Hoewing retiring from foundation

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Gerald Hoewing, a retired Navy vice admiral, said Thursday that he plans to step down as president and chief executive of the foundation that manages and provides financial support for the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The foundation also supports the National Flight Academy at Naval Air Station Pensacola, adjacent to the museum. Hoewing, 63, will step down in May. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 01/31/13)

Lockheed F-35 chief retiring

The head of Lockheed Martin's F-35 program plans to retire, ending a decade-plus run in charge of the program. Tom Burbage will step down from his role at the end of March, Lockheed spokeswoman Laura Siebert confirmed to Defense News. The news was initially reported by Aviation Week. Nothing has been announced on Burbage's replacement. (Source: Defense News, Aviation Week, 01/31/13) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.