EADS cutting 5,800 jobs

Airbus parent EADS will cut 5,800 jobs in Europe in a three-year restructuring of its defense and space activities. The company said the restructuring would lead to a substantial consolidation of sites across Germany, France, Spain and the UK, where cuts will be made. To cushion the impact, EADS pledged to open up 1,500 posts at Airbus and helicopter division Eurocopter for the redeployment of affected staff. The restructuring coincides with plans to merge the company's defense and space divisions into one unit combining its share of Eurofighter combat jets and Ariane space rockets as the defense industry absorbs government budget cuts. The move will put EADS on a potential collision course with a French union that pledged to resist forced cuts. (Sources: Reuters, EADS, 12/09/13) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building a 1,000-worker A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala. It will open in 2015. Previous related

Tyndall getting SERE training

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- A Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape refresher course is coming February to Tyndall. The SERE course teaches pilots and service members who are at high risk of capture, the skills to survive, evade, resist and escape while upholding the code of conduct. The course will be for members of the 325th Fighter Wing, 337th Air Control Squadron and 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group. The re-opened 95th Fighter Squadron's members will be the primary participants, as they require additional training to stay current in combat survival techniques. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 12/04/13)

919th gets new leader

DUKE FIELD, Fla. -- The only special operations wing in the Air Force Reserve has a new leader. Col. James Phillips took command of the 919th Special Operations Wing during a ceremony here Saturday morning. Phillips succeeds Col. Anthony Comtois, who left in September to become commander of the Joint Special Operations Air Component for Special Operations Command Africa. The wing recently converted from MC-130E Combat Talon I operations to the C-145 in support of its new mission of Aviation Foreign Internal Defense. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 12/07/13) Previous

Group will pitch to suppliers

More than 30 business and civic officials from five counties will be in Hamburg, Germany, this week to make sure aerospace suppliers know about Northwest Florida. Some members of the Gulf Coast Aerospace Coalition have been in Germany since last week. They attended the aviation forum, as did representatives from South Alabama. Other delegates from Northwest Florida started heading out this weekend for Hamburg for the Coalition-sponsored leadership forum that begins Monday. (Sources: Pensacola News Journal, Northwest Florida Daily News, 12/07/13) Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said upon his return from Germany late last week that folks will have to be patient, that it will take time for suppliers to follow Airbus to Mobile. About 300 of the 1,000 Airbus suppliers have operations in Hamburg, where Airbus has an assembly line, but it took 20 years to develop. (Source: al.com, 12/06/13)

Land swap deal advances

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Escambia County approved the purchase of 601 acres in Santa Rosa County that eventually would be swapped for the Navy's 640-acre Outlying Field 8 in Escambia County’s Beulah. The Santa Rosa County land, appraised at $1.88 million, will be bought from RMS Timberlands. It will be developed as a helicopter training facility, then swapped for the Navy land in Escambia County. Escambia County wants the current OLF 8, adjacent to the Navy Federal Credit Union campus, for use as a commerce park. The county wants to close the purchase from RMS by Dec. 31. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 12/05/13) Previous

UAV launched from sub

The Naval Research Laboratory demonstrated the launch of an all-electric, fuel cell-powered, unmanned aerial system from a submerged submarine. The eXperimental Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial System (XFC UAS) was fired from USS Providence’s torpedo tube using a Sea Robin launch vehicle system, which fits within a Tomahawk launch canister used for launching cruise missiles. Once deployed, the Sea Robin and XFC rose to the surface where it appeared as a spar buoy, then XFC vertically launched from Sea Robin and flew a successful several hour mission demonstrating live video capabilities streamed back to Providence (SSN 719). The XFC later landed at the Naval Sea Systems Command Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, Andros, Bahamas. (Source: Business Wire, 12/05/13) Gulf Coast note: NRL has a detachment at Stennis Space Center, Miss.; the Gulf Coast region is heavily involved in unmanned systems.

Airbus teams with MIT

Complex structures assembled with components.
Airbus photo by  C. Sadonnet

Airbus signed an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to explore using digital manufacturing in aerospace. Airbus will evaluate how the technique being developed at MIT can be applied to the design and construction of aerospace vehicles. Digital material technology is based on the idea that a complex structure can be built by assembling a simple set of components, similar to how the body builds all of its proteins from amino acids. When the parts developed by MIT are assembled, much like snap-together building blocks, the resulting structure is lightweight, durable and easy to disassemble and reassemble. The technique could lead to lighter aircraft and lower construction and assembly cost. Airbus is also exploring the use of 3D digital printing of some parts or potentially larger airframe structures. (Source: Airbus, 12/05/13) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala.; A 3D printed component has been tested on an engine at Stennis Space Center, Miss: 3-D printed part on rocket engine; 3-D printing grabbing headlines

Contract: M1, $38.7M

M1 Support Services LP, Denton, Texas, was awarded a $38,722,328 firm-fixed-price contract for advanced instructor pilot support services for the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, 110TH Aviation Brigade Support at Fort Rucker, Ala. Work will be performed in Alabama with an estimated completion date of Dec. 12, 2017. Funds will be determined with each order. Bids were solicited via the Internet with seven received. Army Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity (W911S0-14-D-0001). (Source: DoD, 12/05/13)

Eglin sets sortie record

A UK F-35 breaks left over Eglin.
Courtesy photo Andy Poulastides

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – The F-35 program at the joint training center reached a new single-day record for sorties on Wednesday with 45 training missions for all three variants of the Joint Strike Fighter. The Marine F-35B variant completed 32 of the flights, the Air Force F-35A had 10 flights and the Navy F-35C flew three missions. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 12/05/13)

Airbus, Boeing by the numbers

Airbus leads Boeing in the first 11 months of 2013 in the number of orders that have been placed, but trails in deliveries. Airbus lists 1,373 orders since January compared to Boeing's 1,212, according to data from the companies. After cancellations, Airbus logged 1,314 orders. Boeing remained ahead on deliveries, the most widely used benchmark for ranking the top two jetmakers. It delivered 580 planes compared with 562 from Airbus and looked on course to maintain the industry's No.1 spot for a second year when full 2013 data is released in January. (Source: Reuters, 12/05/13) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala.

AF: R&D funding faces cuts

The Air Force may have to cut funding for research and development unless Congress reverses across the board spending cuts. That's what Lt. Gen. Charles Davis, No. 2 Air Force acquisition official, said Wednesday at a conference in New York hosted by Credit Suisse. He said Pentagon leaders are determined to protect funding in new technologies, but the Air Force would have to cut funding to ensure the readiness of its forces if sequestration remains. The Pentagon is bracing for additional mandatory cuts in fiscal 2014, but lawmakers are working on a budget deal that could ease the extent of those cuts. (Source: Reuters, 12/04/13) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., where aerial weapons are developed, tested and evaluated, is a major R&D operation. Expenditures for R&D  in FY 2013 was $601.1 million.

Operational F-35s go to Utah

The Air Force will base the first operational F-35As at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, the service announced Tuesday. Hill was selected because of its location near training ranges and because the base is home to the F-35 depot. Hill is home to the active-duty 388th Fighter Wing and the reserve 419th Fighter Wing, and will be flown by both components. Construction on the base will start immediately, with F-35s arriving beginning in 2015. The base will receive 72 F-35As, which will replace 48 F-16s already assigned to Hill. (Source: Military Times, 12/03/13) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center. Related

UAV startup sees opportunities

NEW ORLEANS -- Amazon got a lot of attention when it said it may one day deliver packages by drone, and while there are a lot of hurdles, at least one drone maker thinks the attention will help. Charles Easterling, CEO of Crescent Unmanned Systems, co-founded the drone startup company in 2010. Crescent Unmanned Systems, based in the Michoud Assembly Facility, plans to finish developing its drone at testing grounds in Utah this month. Called Bravo 300, the unmanned aerial system is designed to carry surveillance cameras and is being marketed to police departments and the military. But recently Easterling started getting calls about potential commercial uses, and that's likely to continue because of the buzz over Amazon deliveries. (Source: nola.com, 12/03/13)

States offer billions to Boeing

States drooling over the thought of landing a Boeing 777X jetliners plant are putting billions in incentives on the table. Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington State all want the plant and the thousands of jobs. Huntsville, Ala., where Boeing already owns 300 acres at Huntsville International Airport, is one of the sites in the running. Boeing began looking for locations after a union in Washington State, where the current version of the 777 was designed and built, rejected the company's contract offer. Dec. 10 is the deadline for responses to the request for proposals. Boeing rival Airbus is building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala. (Source: al.com, 12/04/13)

Vermont Guard getting F-35s

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Eighteen F-35 jets will be based at Burlington International Airport with the Vermont National Guard by the year 2020. That's according to Vermont Adjutant Gen. Steve Cray. Gov. Peter Shumlin and Sen. Patrick Leahy celebrated the decision at a news conference Tuesday at the Vermont National Guard base. "Most likely, our pilots will go down to Eglin Air Force Base (Fla.) and learn how to fly the F-35," said Air Guard Col. David Baczewski. (Source: Vermont Public Radio, 12/03/13) Eglin Air Force Base is home of the F-35 training center.

NATO Global Hawk under way

MOSS POINT, Miss. -- Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center started production on the first NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Block 40 Global Hawk. NATO representatives, state dignitaries, community leaders and employees celebrated the start of production for the first of five aircraft. The system will provide NATO with near real-time terrestrial and maritime situational awareness information throughout the full range of NATO military and civil-military missions. NATO is acquiring the system with 15 nations participating including Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States. Northrop Grumman was awarded the contract in May 2012 during the NATO Summit. The company's industrial team includes EADS Deustchland GmbH (Cassidian), Selex ES and Kongsberg, as well as leading defense companies from all participating nations. (Source: PRNewswire, 12/03/13) The Moss Point facility also does finishing work on the B and C models of the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. Previous: Northrop reorganizes sector; Block 40 Global Hawk in trouble; Finmeccanica gets AGS contract

SpaceX launches satellite

A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., on Tuesday, marking the first successful SpaceX launch of a commercial satellite. The mission is SpaceX's first to a high geostationary transfer orbit needed for commercial satellites. The mission was delayed two previous times because of technical issues. The $100 million satellite is owned by a Luxembourg company, SES. The company had previously used European Ariane rockets or the Russian Proton for its satellite launches. "The entry of SpaceX into the commercial market is a game-changer," SES chief technology officer Martin Halliwell said before the earlier launch attempts. SpaceX, which has successfully resupplied the International Space Station, also wants to enter the $190 billion a year commercial satellite launch industry. (Sources: AFP via Space Daily Express, 12/04/13, Space.com via Fox News, 12/03/13) Gulf Coast note: SpaceX will test its Raptor methane rocket engine at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

KAC moves forward on deal

Kuwait Airways Co. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for 15 A320neo and 10 A350-900 planes, and an option on 10 more planes. The deal also calls for KAC to lease seven A320 and five A330-200s. State-owned KAC, which is being privatized, signed a letter of acceptance for the deal in May. (Sources: AFP via Economic Times, 12/03/13, Reuters, 12/02/13) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile, Ala. Previous

Airbus posts new position

MOBILE, Ala. -- Airbus Americas is seeking applicants for an aircraft conformity manager for the A320 final assembly line under construction at Mobile Aeroplex. Minimum requirements include an associates or technical degree with preference given to those with degrees in aerospace/industrial engineering or business/quality management. Successful candidates must have at least five years' experience in aircraft inspection, configuration management or quality management. (Source: al.com, 12/02/13)

Navy accepts MUOS-2

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Lockheed Martin has completed on-orbit testing of the second Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite and handed over spacecraft operations to the U.S. Navy. The handover also includes acceptance of three MUOS ground stations that will relay voice and high-speed data signals for mobile users worldwide. MUOS-2 was launched July 19, 2013 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The system improves secure communications, delivering simultaneous and prioritized voice, video and data for the first time to users on the move. (Source: PRNewswire, 12/02/13) Gulf Coast note: Work on the core propulsion system for the MUOS, an A2100 satellite-based spacecraft, is done by Lockheed Martin at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous