Airbus plant steel column raised

A steel column goes vertical.
Airbus photo

MOBILE, Ala. -- Following the completion of the ground work at Brookley Aeroplex for the Airbus final assembly line, the first steel column was raised to a vertical position Thursday. The steel support, rising 100 feet into the air, is the first of many that will form the frame for the final assembly building. A320 family aircraft assembly in Mobile is scheduled to begin in 2015, with first deliveries from the facility in 2016. Airbus anticipates the facility will produce between 40 and 50 aircraft per year by 2018. (Source: Airbus, 09/13/13)

Contract: Lockheed, $75.7M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $75,726,105 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to the previously awarded F-35 Lightning II Low Rate Initial Production Lot VI Advance Acquisition contract. This modification provides for the diminishing manufacturing sources redesign efforts in support of the Joint Strike Fighter Lot VI effort. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (29 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (21 percent); Cheltenham, United Kingdom (13 percent); Melbourne, Fla. (9 percent); Baltimore, Md. (9 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (7 percent); Orlando, Fla. (6 percent); Nashua, N.H. (2 percent); Owego, N.Y. (1 percent); Rockville, Md. (1 percent); Camden, N.J. (1 percent); and Sarasota, Fla. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2018. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/13/13) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

Contract: Lockheed, $149M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $149,041,442 fixed-price-incentive-firm modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract for the redesign and qualification of replacement F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Electronic Warfare system components due to current diminishing manufacturing sources. One percent of the work will be done in Crestview, Fla. Other work performance sites are Nashua, N.H. (73 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (23 percent); Orlando, Fla. (2 percent); and Greenville, S.C. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2018. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force (63 percent), Navy (8.3 percent), Marine Corps (7.4 percent), and international partners (21.3 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/12/13)

Contract: Northrop, $169.9M

Northrop Grumman Corp., Aerospace Systems Sector, San Diego, Calif., has been awarded a $169,851,218 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification on a definitization of an undefinitized contract action for contract logistics support for the RQ-4 Global Hawk. The contractor shall provide all logistics support activities which includes fielded air vehicles, engines, payloads, ground segments and support segments. Work will be performed at San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2014. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WIKBA, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/12/13) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

AEHF encapsulated for launch

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- The third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite built by Lockheed Martin has been encapsulated into its payload fairing in preparation for a Sept. 18 liftoff aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The system is the nation's only protected strategic and tactical satellite communications program. It works in concert with its predecessor, Milstar, for global coverage. Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver six AEHF satellites and the Mission Control Segment. AEHF-1 and AEHF-2 are both in orbit and AEHF-4 is progressing on schedule. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 09/11/13) Gulf Coast note: Work on the AEHF core propulsion system is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

NASA to televise Orbital mission

NASA will provide live coverage of the Sept. 17 launch of Orbital Science Corp.'s cargo resupply demonstration mission to the International Space Station. Orbital is the second commercial company to send a mission to the ISS. SpaceX was the first. The company's Cygnus cargo carrier will be launched aboard Orbital's Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Cygnus will deliver about 1,300 pounds of cargo to the Expedition 37 crew aboard the space station. Rendezvous with the space station is scheduled for Sept. 22. (Source: NASA, 09/10/13) Gulf Coast note: The Antares first-stage is powered by twin AJ26 engines tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

SSC does what's needed for stand

Worker welds pipe. NASA/SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Need a massive rocket engine tested without disturbing the neighbors? Yeah, they can do that at NASA's Stennis Space Center. Need to fabricate a 7,000-pound part, or how about miles of piping? Well, sure, they can do that, too. Call it a can-do attitude at SSC, NASA's premier rocket engine test facility since the 1960s. Work is well under way to prepare for the next big project, testing the RS-25 engines that will power the core stage of NASA's next generation Space Launch System. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Quarterly, 09/10/13) Full quarterly

New drones quantum leap

QF-16 at Tyndall. Air Force photo

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Retired F-16 Fighting Falcons, among the most lethal warplanes to roll off an assembly line, are getting a new lease on life that will let them go out with a bang. About 200 of the planes are being converted into full scale, pilotless aerial targets. They'll help the military gauge the effectiveness of new weapons and perfect the skills of military aviators. And while drones may seem like the newest of the new in some areas, for Tyndall Air Force Base they're old hat. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Quarterly, 09/10/13) Full quarterly

No college, no future? Think again

Aviation training at Brookley. GCAC photo

MOBILE, Ala. -- The expansion of the aerospace industry across the Gulf Coast is creating demand for skilled production workers, and local business and educational leaders say the future has never been brighter for students interested in aviation careers. "I tell all my incoming students: Aviation is not just a job, it's a profession," said Kyle Cook, director of Mobile's Alabama Aviation Center. "It truly can take you above and beyond a lot of other jobs – including a few that might surprise you." (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Quarterly, 09/10/13) Full quarterly

Pensacola's 350-acre lure

Land use map. Courtesy Pensacola airport

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Greg Donovan is a bit enthusiastic. But consider this: he's director of the second busiest airport in the region; Airbus is building an assembly line 60 miles away; the U.S. is becoming more appealing to manufacturers; and his airport has 350 acres that can be put on the table. Now that the city council has approved the land use plan, all systems are go for attracting aviation companies. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor Quarterly, 09/10/13) Full quarterly

Global Hawks hit 100K hours

Northrop Grumman's high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft systems have achieved 100,000 flight hours, more than 88 percent of which were logged by the U.S. Air Force Global Hawk. The remaining hours were flown by the NASA Global Hawks, the German Euro Hawk and the U.S. Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator and, more recently, Triton. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 09/09/13) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawk and its variants are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

MAA hires projects manager

MOBILE, Ala. -- Russell L. Stallings has joined the Mobile Airport Authority as director of capital projects and improvements. Stallings brings three decades of construction industry experience to the position. Among other things, he’ll coordinate the $600 million Airbus construction project and oversee other projects at the Brookley Aeroplex. Roger Wehner, the airport authority’s executive director, applauded the "world-class" experience Stallings’ brings to Brookley. Airbus broke ground in April on the final assembly line project. (Source: al.com, 09/09/13)

Airbus seeks liaison engineers

MOBILE, Ala. -- Airbus Americas is seeking liaison engineers for the $600 million aircraft assembly line being built at Mobile's Brookley Aeroplex. Liaison engineers who specialize in installation, structure and systems are needed for the Mobile facility. All three positions require a minimum of 10 months training abroad, and a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in engineering with a focus on aerospace, electrical, mechanical or aircraft construction. (Source: al.com, 09/09/13)

J-2X tests on A-1 end

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – A series of hotfire tests on the next generation J-2X rocket engine came to an end Thursday. The gimbal test of Rocketdyne J-2X No. 10002 was a 330-second test fire on the A-1 test stand. Now NASA has its sights on testing the Rocketdyne RS-25. Both engines will be used with NASA's Space Launch System. The J-2X will be used on the upper stage and the RS-25 on the core stage. (Source: NASA/SSC, 09/05/13) Previous

Aerospace coalition formed

Economic development officials in five counties formed the Gulf Coast Aerospace Coalition in a bid to work together to attract aerospace companies to Northwest Florida. The group includes Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton and Bay counties. In December, members of the coalition will travel to Hamburg, Germany, to attend the Global Aerospace Supply Chain Conference in Hamburg on Dec. 4-5, and a Northwest Florida Leadership Forum will be held in Hamburg on Dec. 8-11. (Sources: Panama City News Herald, Greater Pensacola Chamber, 09/05/13)

Contract: Northrop, $10M

Northrop Grumman Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $9,981,663 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for additional operations and maintenance services in support of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance - Demonstrator, Unmanned Aircraft System, also known as the Global Hawk Maritime - Demonstrator. The services include manpower to increase BAMS-D operational tempo from the current nine maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions per month to a sustained level of 15 missions per month. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md. (70 percent), and outside continental United States (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2014. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/06/13) Gulf Coast note: The BAMS aircraft and follow-up Triton are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Mobile planes in Delta order

Delta Air Lines plans to buy 40 Airbus jetliners from 2015-17, including 30 single-aisle A321 and 10 wide-body A330s, company officials said. The airline has selected CFM56-5B engines from CFM International to power its A321s. As a result of the merger of Delta and Northwest Airlines, the Delta fleet includes 126 A320 aircraft. Airbus' new final assembly line being built in Mobile, Ala., will deliver its first A321 jets in the fall of 2016 to Jet Blue Airlines, but Airbus said many of Delta's A321s are expected to be assembled in Mobile at Brookley Aeroplex. Delta's first three A321s will be delivered in the first quarter of 2016, with 12 more throughout the year. The other 15 are scheduled for 2017. (Sources: PRNewswire, Airbus, 09/04/13)

A2100 satellite reaches milestone

The Lockheed Martin A2100 communications satellite series has reached a milestone by chalking up over 400 cumulative years of successful, in-orbit operations. The orbiting fleet consists of 45 commercial and U.S. government communication satellites equipped with over 1,500 transponders transmitting data, video and audio for operators worldwide. In addition to commercial applications, the A2100 satellite is the platform for communications programs for the U.S. government, including the Advanced Extremely High Frequency and Mobile User Objective System. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 09/03/13) Gulf Coast note: Core propulsion system work on the A2100 is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous: Navy's second MUOS launched; MUOS-2 stored awaiting launch; Core delivered to SSC

MAA, group at odds over info request

The FOIA Group Inc., threatens to take legal action against the Mobile Airport Authority for denying a Freedom of Information Act request pertaining to the Airbus plant being built at Brookley Aeroplex. Roger Wehner, the authority’s executive director, said the request was denied to protect the interests of current and future Brookley tenants, not just Airbus. He said that if MAA, which is in the economic development business, handed over proprietary information, "we wouldn't be in the economic development business much longer," Wehner said. (Source: al.com, 09/03/13)

Euro Hawk sets record

Euro Hawk in Germany. Cassidian photo

MANCHING, Germany -- The Euro Hawk unmanned aircraft system set an endurance record last month when it flew for 25.3 hours in European airspace. Built by Northrop Grumman, operating through its subsidiary Northrop Grumman ISS International Inc. and Cassidian, the UAS climbed to 58,600 feet over Manching Air Base, Germany. Europ Hawk has completed 19 flights and about 200 flight hours. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 09/03/13) Gulf Coast note: Euro Hawks were built in part in Moss Point, Miss. Previous