Two squadrons move to Hurlburt

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Two Air Force squadrons moved to a new hangar Monday morning by running 15 miles across town. More than 50 people from the 9th Special Operations and the 1st Special Operations Maintenance squadrons ran a relay to carry their flags, or guidons, from their hangar at Eglin Air Force Base to their new home at Hurlburt Field. The move, discussed for more than 20 years, finally reunites all 1st Special Operations Wing squadrons under one roof. About 400 people and eight MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft relocated. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 05/20/13)

3 Gulf Coast bases win awards

Three bases in the Gulf Coast region were among five that won the Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced today that the 2013 award winners. The Gulf Coast bases are the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Rucker, Ala.; Naval Support Activity Panama City, Fla.; and Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss. The other winners are Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., and Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio. The award recognizes the outstanding and innovative efforts of the people who operate and maintain U.S. military installations. The five recipients of this highly competitive presidential award were selected for their exemplary support of Department of Defense missions. (Source: DoD, 05/20/13) Previous

728th ACS victim of cuts

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- One of the oldest squadrons in the Air Force has been shelved. The Air Force was just three years old when 728th Air Control Squadron was activated Sept. 2, 1950, at Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Ga. The squadron was inactivated Friday at Eglin Air Force Base as part of broad budget cuts in the Department of Defense. The 728th provided command and control of joint air operations by conducting surveillance, identification, weapons control, battle management and theater communications data links. The squadron moved to Duke Field in 1977 then Eglin in 1994. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 05/17/13)

Drone marks another first

X-47B prepares for touch and go. Navy photo

ATLANTIC OCEAN -- The Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) has performed touch and go landings aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). It's another first for the Northrop Grumman-built drone. Earlier in the week the ship conducted the first-ever launch of the UAV. The UCAS-D program plans to conduct shore-based arrested landings of the X-47B at NAS Patuxent River, Md., in the coming months before final carrier-based arrestments later in 2013. (Source: NNS, 05/17/13) Previous Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of two drones in Moss Point, Miss.; naval aviators receive initial training in Northwest Florida.

Female chair chosen

The New Orleans Aviation Board, which governs the city-owned Louis Armstrong International Airport, picked New Orleans lawyer Cheryl Teamer to be its first female chairperson. She will oversee the launch of an $826 million overhaul the airfield that Mayor Mitch Landrieu has dictated must be done in five years. Teamer was selected Thursday. (Source: New Orleans Times Picayune, 05/17/13)

Army SFG welcomes public

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) opened its doors Wednesday to the public. About 2,000 people showed up at the Special Forces' cantonment south of Crestview. The event was part of the group's Red Empire Week, designed to reunite soldiers with their families after year-long deployments to Afghanistan and to show appreciation for the community. Visitors Day featured about 15 displays for the public to inspect the weapons, vehicles and technologies soldiers use and to let them explain their day-to-day duties. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 05/15/13)

Contract: Jacobs, $8.5M

Jacobs Technology Inc., Lincoln, Mass., was awarded an $8,527,294 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-reimbursable contract for interim support of services to provide engineering and technology acquisition support services. The types of services to be acquired under this contract includes but are not limited to: engineering services, engineering support, technical support, provisioning and logistics, modeling and simulation, configuration and data management, architectural support, test and evaluation, security engineering and certification, capability based planning, commercial-off-the-shelf integration, integrated master plans and scheduling and technical reviews. Work will be done at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., with primary geographically separated units at Peterson AFB, Colo.; Langley AFB, Va.; Eglin AFB, Fla.; Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.; and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, with an expected completion date of Nov. 15, 2013. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/PZM is the contracting activity. Contract has an FMS component as the contract requires company to travel overseas for host nation support. (Source: DoD, 05/16/13)

Australia eyes Triton again

Australia is back on board and again considering buying Northrop Grumman Triton long-range surveillance drones. The government will issue a letter of request to the United States to gain access to detailed cost, capability and availability information on the U.S. Navy's MQ-4C Triton. The drone is a variant of the long-range Global Hawk, but configured for maritime surveillance. Australia could buy six or seven Tritons, according to Reuters. The United States plans to buy 68. (Source: The Australian, 05/16/13) Previous: Germany axes Euro Hawk. Gulf Coast note: All variants of the Global Hawk are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

A-1 marks a first in decade

The J-2X is installed on the A-1 stand.
NASA/SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- For the first time in almost a decade, a full engine is in the A-1 test stand. The installation of J-2X engine E10002 is in preparation for a series of tests where the engine will be gimbaled, or pivoted, during test firings. When this upper stage engine is used in space, it will need to be able to move freely to steer NASA's Space Launch System, or SLS, a heavy-lift launch vehicle that will carry humans in deep space. It's the first time gimbal tests will be done since testing on the space shuttle main engines. A series of tests was completed on the E10002 engine in the A-2 test stand prior to its installation on the A-1 test stand. Once these tests are done, preparations will be made to begin testing the RS-25 engine on the A-1 stand in 2014. RS-25 engines from the shuttle inventory will power the core stage of SLS, while the J-2X engine will power the upper stage. (Source: NASA, 05/14/13)

Germany axes Euro Hawk

Germany's defense ministry plans to abandon the $1.3 billion Euro Hawk reconnaissance program. Flight clearance issues in European airspace were key factors, according to reports. One Euro Hawk demonstrator, a variant of the unmanned Northrop Grumman-built Global Hawk but with Europe-built sensors, has already been purchased. But plans four will now be canceled, officials said. (Sources: Deutsche Welle, AP via Fox News, AFP via Defense News, 05/15/13) Gulf Coast note: The central fuselage of the Euro Hawk was built by Northrop Grumman in Moss Point, Miss. Previous: Euro Hawk arrives in Germany

F-35s do aerial refueling

F-35 refueled over Eglin. Air Force photo

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Air Force F-35 instructor pilots are qualifying this week, including today, in aerial refueling, bringing to the F-35 Integrated Training Center a new capability for student pilot training. An Air Force Reserve KC-135 Stratotanker is providing the fuel to formations of the F-35As over the Eglin training ranges. (Source: 33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 05/14/13) Previous Eglin gets upgraded F-35

Drone catapults from carrier

History made with X-47B launch Tuesday.
U.S. Navy photo

ATLANTIC OCEAN -- In a historic first, the X-47B unmanned aircraft successfully launched from an aircraft carrier today. It was the first-ever catapult launch of a robot aircraft, popularly called a drone. The demonstrator built by Northrop Grumman launched at 11:18 a.m. EDT from the George H.W. Bush off the coast of Maryland, then safely landed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River after a 65-minute flight. Vice Adm. David Buss, commander, Naval Air Forces, called the launch a "watershed event" in naval aviation history. (Sources: C/NET, Wall Street Journal, Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs, 05/14/13) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of the Global Hawk and Fire Scout drones in Moss Point, Miss.; naval aviators receive initial training in Northwest Florida. Previous

Orion repair being tested

Engineers are putting NASA's first space-bound Orion capsule through tests to stress the capsule's structural shell and check repairs to cracks in the pressurized module's aluminum bulkhead. It's set to fly in orbit in 2014. The static loads testing began May 3 and will run through June inside the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The pressure shell of the Orion spacecraft, comprised of welded olive-green aluminum-lithium metal panels, is being put through the tests to verify the capsule can withstand loads it will encounter during launch, re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The 16.5-foot-diameter spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin Corp., was delivered to KSC in June 2012. Engineers put the capsule through its first test at KSC in November, when they pressurized the Orion crew module to check its integrity. The test was halted after technicians heard audible cracking sounds, and inspections showed three small cracks in the aft bulkhead on the lower half of the Orion spacecraft's pressure shell. The cracks materialized in three adjacent radial ribs of the aluminum bulkhead, according to NASA. Engineers designed structural braces to resolve the problem, and those repairs are being tested now. (Source: Spaceflight Now, 05/12/13) Gulf Coast note: The olive-green aluminum alloy core of the Orion was built at Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans. Previous: MAF-built Orion at KSC, NASA evaluating Orion cracks

Contract: Northrop, $555.6M

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems Sector, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a maximum ceiling $555,600,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Global Hawk modernization. The tasks on each delivery will fall into, but are not limited to, the following categories: management, including program, business and technical areas; engineering efforts, including configuration management, data management, reliability, availability and maintainability, and related areas of concern such as technical refresh, diminishing manufacturing sources, etc.; studies and analyses; design, development, integration, test and evaluation; retrofit requirements; and integrated logistics support. Work will be performed in San Diego, and is expected to be completed by May 14, 2015. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 and 2013 and obligations will be on subsequent individual task/delivery orders. The contracting activity is Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WIGK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. (Source: DoD, 05/13/13) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawk central fuselage work is done in Moss Point, Miss.

Kuwait, Airbus to sign deal

Kuwait Airways will buy 25 new Airbus jets and aims to lease a further 13 to upgrade its fleet, the Kuwaiti newspaper Daily Al-Watan reported. The deal is for 10 wide-bodied A350-900 jets and 15 of the A320neo The paper placed the value at $3.1 billion. Bloomberg also wrote that the deal between Airbus SAS and the airline is close and could be signed this month, but it placed the value at $4.4 billion based on list price. Deliveries would start in 2019. (Sources: Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, 05/12/13) Gulf Coast note: Airbus broke ground last month in Mobile, Ala., on an A320 final assembly line.

Plans for old airport unveiled

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- The St. Andrew Bay Land Co. unveiled plans for a large development on the old airport property. The Panama City Planning Board and Commission likely will vote on Phase I of the project this month. Construction is slated to begin in June. The 704-acre development called SweetBay will include 3,200 homes, 700,000 square feet of commercial space and the University Academy, parks, ponds and green space. The land became available when the airport moved to West Bay. The Airport Authority sold the property to St. Andrew Bay Land Co. for $51.4 million in February 2011. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 05/09/13)

FAA finds funds for towers

Small airport towers slated to close in June, including ones in Dothan, Ala., and Kiln, Miss., will remain open through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. In a statement released Friday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the recent passage of a bill to free up funds and avoid sequester-related furloughs of some 47,000 FAA employees also provided the money to keep 149 airport towers open. The airport in Kiln is near NASA's Stennis Space Center. (Sources: al.com, Sun Herald, 05/10/13)

Dothan facility lands client

DOTHAN, Ala. – A month after Commercial Jet announced plans to open a $12 million facility at Dothan Regional Airport, the provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services landed a big contract. Aeronautical Engineers Inc. of Miami announced Friday its selection of the 400,000-square-foot Alabama facility as its fourth authorized conversion center. Commercial Jet’s Dothan facility will provide passenger-to-freight conversions for the 737-300SF, 737-400SF and MD80SF as well as maintenance services to AEI customers. (Sources: al.com, 05/10/13) Previous

Construction set to begin

As Airbus readies for the first concrete pour for its new A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala., the company is empowering plant managers to make decisions to assure that its supply chain runs like clockwork. That's what Airbus North America President and CEO Barry Eccleston said May 8 during Aviation Week's Civil Aircraft Manufacturing Conference in Charlotte, N.C. The first concrete footings are to be poured next week for the plant, the fifth Airbus fifth facility in the U.S. but the first to assemble aircraft. It will be a carbon-copy of the A320 factory in Hamburg, Germany, mirroring the process used when the Tianjin, China, plant was built. (Source: Aviation Week, 05/09/13)

Airbus lands Air China deal

Asia's biggest carrier by market value, Air China, will add 100 Airbus jetliners to help meet rising travel demand. The Beijing-based airline didn't specify a timeframe or the type of aircraft it's buying. But analysts believe the order is mainly A320 for short-haul routes. Carriers in China will need 5,260 new planes worth $670 billion through 2031, Boeing forecast in September. China has become the world's biggest source of tourists, overtaking Germany and the United States. (Source: Bloomberg, 05/07/13) Gulf Coast note: The newest A320 final assembly line is being built in Mobile, Ala.