Drone destroyed after malfunction

PORT ST. JOE, Fla. – A QF-4 target drone out of Tyndall Air Force Base plunged into the Gulf of Mexico near St. Joseph Peninsula State Park Wednesday after it was destroyed by ground controllers. Tyndall officials said the unmanned Air Force drone assigned to the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group was destroyed Wednesday morning after it went “haywire” and left its safety zone. The drone, an F-4 Phantom converted to fly without a pilot, carries a self-destruct charge and was destroyed as it returned to base after a routine operation, officials said. (Source: News Herald via The Star, 07/10/13) Previous: QF-16 drone arrives

Contract: SRI, $230M

SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., has been awarded a $230,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hardware, software, prototype systems, spiral software enhancements and installation training support for the Digital Video Laboratory III. The basic contract is a five-year contract; with the work for the first delivery order performed at Princeton, N.J., and is expected to be completed by July 9, 2014. Air Force Test Center/PZIE, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/10/13)

Drone lands on carrier

X-47B snags cable in historic carrier landing.
U.S. Navy photo

A robot aircraft made history when its tailhook caught a cable and it made a successful arrested landing on the flight deck of a moving aircraft carrier off the coast of Virginia today. "It isn't very often you get a glimpse of the future. Today, those of us aboard USS George H.W. Bush got that chance,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. The Northrop Grumman-built X-47B, a tail-less, unmanned combat aircraft about the size of a fighter, landed autonomously using GPS and sophisticated software. Named "Salty Dog 502," the unmanned aircraft took off from the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., and headed for the carrier, the same ship where an X-47B for the first time executed a catapult launch in May. Two arrested landings were successful, but after reporters and VIPs left, a third landing was aborted when the aircraft itself detected a navigation computer issue. It landed safely back on land. (Sources: Navy, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, Breaking Defense, 07/10/13) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of two unmanned aircraft, Fire Scout and Global Hawk, in Moss Point, Miss.

Air show goes on

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Although sequestration has grounded the Navy Blue Angels from participating in the summer air show at Pensacola Beach, the show is being held with an all-civilian lineup. Twenty-four civilian aircraft will participate in the show Friday and Saturday. The big question for beach businesses is whether a show without the Navy flight demonstration team, based at nearby Naval Air Station Pensacola, will draw as many visitors. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 07/10/13)

Drone's arrested carrier landing

An unmanned X-47B is scheduled to make its first arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier in a historic first on Wednesday. The Northrop Grumman-built aircraft, called “Salty Dog 502,” will leave Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., and head for the USS George H.W. Bush, sailing off the coast of Virginia, for the arrested landing aboard CVN 77. Landing on a carrier deck is one of the most challenging tasks for a naval aviator. There will be nobody on the surface controlling the landing. Rather, the X-47B will land autonomously using precision GPS navigation, a high-integrity network connection and advanced flight control software to guide itself through the turbulent air behind the aircraft carrier and onto the moving flight deck. (Source: Navy Live, 07/09/13) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builts portions of the Fire Scout and Global Hawk unmanned systems in Moss Point, Miss. Previous: Drone catapults from carrier; Drone makes arrested landing

403rd to get new leader

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Col. Jay Jensen, commander of the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., is being reassigned to the Pentagon. Jensen will be senior Air Force policy administrator for the Reserve Forces Policy Board. In that job he’ll advocate for reservists. A new commander will take over the 403rd at the end of this month. In addition to a change in leadership, the 403rd is changing in other ways. The Hurricane Hunters will stay at Keesler but 10 of the C-130Js in the 403rd are being transferred to North Carolina. In addition, the active duty 345th will be reassigned to other active duty posts and the 815th will be dissolved. (Source: Sun Herald, 07/08/13)

Budget closes museum on Mondays

NAVAL AIR STATION PENSACOLA – The National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola will be closed Mondays because of sequestration. The first day of the closing was this week, and it will remain in effect through September. The museum, which has no cover charge, is closed on Mondays because federal employees handle management of the museum. Much of the staffing is done by volunteers. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 07/09/13)

44 civilian positions being cut

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Twenty-nine civilian positions will be eliminated at Naval Air Station Pensacola later this year. Another 15 will be eliminated at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton. In Pensacola, jobs are being cut from force protection, command management and morale, welfare and recreation. The Reduction in Force will occur Nov. 30. (Source: WEAR-TV, 07/08/13)

Accelerator drawing businesses

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- GE Aviation, which opened its Ellisville plant in May, is now renting laboratory space in The Accelerator innovation center to train new employees to make components for jet engines. The first course, Composites 101, consists of two eight-hour days where trainees learn the fundamentals of working with composites such as carbon fiber and resins. Composites 102 is several more eight-hour classes. Two other new businesses are Vatican Capital, a private equity investment firm that moved to The Accelerator in March, and Radiance Technologies, which moved in at the beginning of the year. Radiance, established in Huntsville in 1999, develops electronics, polymers and military applications. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 07/07/13) The Accelerator business incubator was developed by the University of Southern Mississippi.

NASA seeks lunar partners

NASA is offering its expertise and test facilities to potential lunar-lander partners who might be able to help mount scientific missions to the Moon as early as 2018. A request for information published July 2 seeks concepts for "an industry-developed robotic lander that can be integrated with a launch vehicle for the purposes of supporting commercial (and potentially future NASA) missions." The responses are due Aug. 2. NASA is proposing no-exchange-of-funds partnerships under Space Act agreements or other mechanisms, offering its technical expertise, test facilities, and some hardware and software to private companies willing to put up funding for lander development. NASA is piggybacking on the Google Lunar X Prize, $30 million in prizes to teams that can land a robotic spacecraft on the lunar surface. Right now 22 teams worldwide are in the running, working against a deadline of Dec. 31, 2015. (Source: Aviation Week, 07/05/13) Gulf Coast note: NASA has two facilities in the Gulf Coast region: Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans.

Contract: UT, $134M

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $133,979,288 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract. This modification provides for non-recurring and recurring sustainment, site activation and depot activation efforts in support of the Joint Strike Fighter F135 Propulsion System Low Rate Initial Production Lot VI. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Conn. (63 percent); Indianapolis, Ind. (25 percent), and Bristol, United Kingdom (12 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2015. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force (44.1 percent); U. S. Marine Corps (23.5 percent); the U.S. Navy (21.6 percent); and the governments of the United Kingdom (2.1 percent); Italy (2 percent); Turkey (1.6 percent); Australia (1.6 percent); the Netherlands (1.3 percent); Canada (1 percent); Norway (.8 percent); and Denmark (.4 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/05/13) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

Syphax orders six A320 jetliners

Tunisia's Syphax Airlines ordered six Airbus A320 aircraft, an order worth about $575 million. Syphax has confirmed its order to buy three A320neo, which incorporates more fuel efficient engines and "sharklet" wing tip devices, and three A320 aircraft. A provisional order for the aircraft was made last month during the Paris Air Show. The aircraft will be powered by engines from CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric and Safran. The list price of an A320neo is $100.2 million and the standard A320 is $91.5 million, but airlines usually get discounts. At the end of June 2013, firm orders for the NEO stood at 2245 from 40 customers. (Sources: Airbus, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, 07/04/13) Gulf Coast note: Airbus broke ground in April on a $600 million A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala.

Northrop gets simulator contract

Northrop Grumman last week won a training-simulation contract potentially worth $490 million to support the Air Force's next-generation air-combat virtual-training network. Northrop Grumman Information Systems of Herndon, Va., was awarded the follow-on support for the Combat Air Force Distributed Mission Operations and Integration program, according to the Defense Department. The company will develop and manage the "Distributed Mission Operations Network 2.0" at its Orlando operation with work to be completed by June 30, 2018. The system will connect dissimilar combat-aircraft simulators, from fighters to refueling aircraft, to the same interactive trainer. Lockheed Martin also competed for the project, according to a senior defense analyst for the Frost & Sullivan consulting firm. Lockheed's Mission Systems & Training unit in Orlando, among other projects, manages the F-35 pilot-training center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., one of the centers that would connect to the Air Force's mission-operations training network. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Agile Combat Support, Simulators Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman's simulation division lost a bid earlier this year for a trio of contracts related to virtual-training systems for the Littoral Combat Ship, the Navy's new, advanced warship. (Sources: DoD, 06/27/13, Orlando Sentinel 07/03/13) The Independence-class variant of the LCS is built in Mobile, Ala., by Austal USA.

West takes over 1st SOW

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Col. Bill West took command of the 1st Special Operations Wing during a change of command ceremony Wednesday. West, a navigator, comes to Hurlburt from his position as commander of the 27th Special Operations Group at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. West succeeds Col. Jim Slife, who has headed the wing for two years. The 1st SOW oversees operations at Hurlburt Field, the most deployed installation in the Air Force. It employs more than 8,700 airmen and almost 2,000 civilians. During Slife’s command, the wing was in a near-constant state of deployment, conducting combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Libya, South America and the Horn of Africa. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 07/03/13) Previous

7th SFG gets new leader

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Col. Christopher Riga became the latest commander of the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) during a change of command ceremony Wednesday. He becomes the group's third commander since it moved from Fort Bragg, N.C., to its new 500-acre cantonment in Eglin Air Force Base. Riga replaces Col. Antonio Fletcher, who has served as commander of the 7th Special Forces Group for two years. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 07/03/13)

Harman to lead Okaloosa airports

Sunil Harman, Okaloosa County's new airports director, is scheduled to start work July 23. County commissioners unanimously approved Harman Tuesday night. Harman, who has worked as Tallahassee's aviation director since 2011, was chosen from a pool of 175 applicants. He will oversee Northwest Florida Regional Airport, Destin Airport and Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview. Harman replaces Greg Donovan, who left in March 1 to head up Pensacola International Airport. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 07/03/13) Previous

Lockheed delivers 3rd HEO

Lockheed Martin has delivered the third of four highly elliptical earth orbit (HEO) satellite payloads contracted by the U.S. Air Force as part of the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS). Featuring a mix of satellites in geosynchronous orbit, the SBIRS program provides improved missile warning capabilities. The contracts include four HEO payloads, four GEO satellites, and ground assets to receive, process, and disseminate the infrared mission data. The first two HEO payloads were delivered in 2004 and 2005. Prior to its delivery, the HEO 3 payload successfully completed environmental and functional testing to demonstrate performance in family with HEOs 1 and 2. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 07/01/13) Gulf Coast note: SBIRS is an A2100 satellite-based spacecraft, and work on the A2100 core's propulsion system, which positions the spacecraft in orbit, is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

Contract: EADS, $12.9M

EADS North America, Herndon, Va., was awarded a $12,921,227 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, option-filled contract for contractor logistics support for the Army's aviation assets. The cumulative total face value of this contract is $2,265,423,694. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss. Fiscal 2013 operations and maintenance funds are being obligated on this award. The Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/01/13)

Sequester hits commissaries

Sequestration will force military and retiree families to revise weekday food shopping routines at commissaries in the region. In Florida, commissaries at Pensacola Naval Exchange near Corry Station and Eglin Air Force base will be among 247 that will be closed on Mondays when civilian defense workers begin unpaid furloughs July 8. The commissary at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss., will also be closed Monday. About 148 others will close Tuesdays as well. That list includes Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Hurlburt Field and Tyndall in Florida, Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Naval Air Station Columbus and Naval Air Station Meridian, all in Mississippi, and Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in Belle Chasse, La. Commissaries employ 14,000 U.S.-based civilian employees who will be affected by furloughs. The changes will remain through Sept. 30. (Source: Defense Commissary Agency, store locator)

F-22 mod contract awarded

Lockheed Martin received a $12.7 million contract modification to supply the final batch of automatic backup oxygen supply (A-BOS) systems for the F-22 Raptor fleet. The contract includes 72 retrofit kits for operational aircraft, two for test aircraft, trainer kits, support equipment and spares, according to a Department of Defense announcement. The total cumulative face value of the overall contract is $5.1 billion. (Source: Flight Global, 06/28/13) Gulf Coast note: F-22 pilots are trained at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.