Pilot in fatal crash identified

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE — The pilot who died when his F-16C crashed into the Gulf of Mexico Thursday has been identified as Matthew J. LaCourse, a civilian pilot assigned to the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron. His plane went down 50 to 75 miles south of Panama City during a routine training mission. The cause has not been announced. LaCourse, 58, retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 2000. In 2012, LaCourse, who lived in Panama City Beach, marked 2,000 flying hours in an F-4. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 11/07/14)

United to serve Bay County

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – United Airlines said this week that it will serve Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) in early 2015. The airline will provide twice-daily, year-round service to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Operated by United's regional branch, United Express, the first flight is scheduled to take off March 5. The company plans to use ExpressJet Airlines' 50-seat Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft. The airport is also served by Southwest Airlines. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 11/07/14)

MoU signed for 100 A320s

China Aircraft Leasing Co. signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 100 A320 family aircraft. The agreement involves 74 A320neo, 16 A320ceo and 10 A321ceo jetliners. Including this commitment, CALC's total order with Airbus is 140 A320 family aircraft. (Source: Airbus, 11/06/14) Gulf Coast note: Airbus is building an A320 family final assembly line in Mobile, Ala. The first jetliner that will roll out in 2016 will be an A321 for JetBlue.

Body, wreckage recovered

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Wreckage of an F-16 fighter that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday morning and the remains of the pilot have been recovered, Air Force officials said. The jet fighter was on a routine training mission when Tyndall lost contact with the pilot. The search area was at a location some 57 miles south of Panama City, Fla. The plane, a single-seat F-16C, was assigned to the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Squadron. The name of the pilot is being withheld pending notification of relatives. Tyndall, home of the 325th Fighter Wing, trains F-22 pilots and has an operational F-22 squadron. The base provides air dominance training and, along with nearby Eglin Air Force Base, performs weapons evaluation missions. (Sources: multiple, including Panama City News Herald, 11/06/14)

F-16 believed down over Gulf

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – An F-16 fighter is believed to have crashed in the Gulf of Mexico today. A news release from Tyndall said the jet was on a routine training mission Thursday morning when contact was lost. The Coast Guard is leading the search and said crews first responded to a location some 57 miles south of Panama City, Fla. Tyndall is home of the 325th Fighter Wing and its mission is air dominance training and operations. The base's aircraft inventory include F-22 fifth-generation fighters. (Sources: multiple, 11/06/14)

Contract: Airbus D&S, $71.4M

Airbus Defense and Space, Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $71,358,549 modification (P00857) to firm-fixed-price contract W58RGZ-06-C-0194 to acquire UH72A Lakota helicopters with ARC 231 radios. Fiscal 2015 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $71,713,665 were obligated at the time of the award. The cumulative total for the contract, with this modification, is $2,734,932,786. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2016. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal (Aviation), Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/06/14)

Eglin scientist best in AF

Dr. Don Grundel

A scientist from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Dr. Don Grundel, was named the Air Force’s 2013 Senior Civilian Scientist and Engineer of the Year. Under his leadership, the Systems Integration and Interface branch of the Armament Directorate was responsible for many achievements, ranging from major cost-saving initiatives to enhancing the way warfighters operate in the field. Among the achievements cited was improving survivability of the BLU-109 bunker-busting bomb by 80 percent at a cost of $50 per weapons. Also cited was qualification of the first medium-caliber ammunition, a 25mm non-energetic tungsten penetrating round, for the F-35 gun. Grundel was recognized at an Oct. 23 ceremony. (Source: Eglin Public Affairs, 11/06/14)

Orbital: Antares ditching AJ26?

Orbital Sciences Corp. has decided it will likely discontinue using the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26 engine to power future Antares space launch vehicles. The company said today that preliminary review of the date from last week's explosion of an Antares rocket after liftoff from Wallops Island, Va., indicates a probable turbopump-related failure in one of the two AJ26 engine. Orbital said it still plans to fulfill its contract commitments to NASA to resupply the International Space Station through one or two non-Antares launches of the company's Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS in 2015-2016. Orbital Sciences said it plans an early introduction of a previously selected Antares engine upgrade in 2016. (Source: Orbital Sciences via Business Wire, 11/05/14) Gulf Coast note: Aerojet tests the AJ26 engine at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

Airbus seeks procurement pros

MOBILE, Ala. -- Airbus is seeking procurement professionals for its A320 final assembly line being built at Mobile Aeroplex. The positions will be responsible for the acquisition of goods and services and maintaining vendor relationships. The position requires a bachelor's degree in business, engineering or related field or the equivalent combination of education and experience. For a complete list of Airbus jobs in Mobile, visit the Alabama Industrial Development Training website. (Source: al.com, 11/04/14)

Rolls-Royce shedding jobs

Rolls-Royce will be shedding 2,600 jobs over the next 18 months, part of an intensified program to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. The company said in a news release Tuesday that the cuts will come principally in the aerospace division, and that the majority of the reductions will be achieved in 2015. (Source: Rolls-Royce, 11/04/14) A company spokesman said through an email that he could not specify where cuts would occur, but said a union has said it expects two-thirds of the cuts to be in the U.K. The company has 55,200 workers worldwide, and 8,500 in the United States. Rolls-Royce has an engine test facility at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Partners can customize F-35 data

U.S. allies buying F-35 fighters will be able to customize the mission data packages loaded onto their aircraft, marking a solution to a long-standing bone of contention among partners developing the F-35. The Pentagon has a policy of never sharing the source codes for any U.S. weapons system. But partners want to be able to modify data packages to meet their needs. Data packages hold terrain and threat information for particular regions, along with data on friendly forces, all providing a pilot with battlespace awareness. Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the F-35 program manager, said last week that a compromise has been reached through labs where partners will be able to do their own software work. The U.S. Navy will operate a mission data lab at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif. Right now the Air Force's Air Combat Command reprogramming lab at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., creates all of the F-35 mission data packages. Building additional reprogramming labs will help alleviate pressure on the Eglin lab. Partner nations will also be building facilities in the U.S. to reprogram their F-35s. (Source: USNI, 11/04/14)

Booz Allen to support 96th TW

The Air Force selected Booz Allen Hamilton Engineering Services LLC to provide technical support to the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Under the terms of the $53 million contract, Booz Allen will provide the 96th TW with command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities, and other technical, engineering and research management support. The 96th Test Wing is the test and evaluation center for Air Force delivered weapons; navigation and guidance systems; command and control systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command systems. The wing provides expert evaluation and validation of the performance of systems throughout the design, development, acquisition, and sustainment process to ensure the warfighter has technologically superior, reliable, maintainable, sustainable and safe systems. (Source: Business Wire, 11/04/14)

F-35 makes carrier arrested landing

SAN DIEGO -- The Navy made history Nov. 3 as an F-35C conducted its first arrested landing aboard an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego. Navy test pilot Cmdr. Tony Wilson landed F-35C test aircraft CF-03 at 12:18 p.m. aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) flight deck. The arrested landing is part of initial at-sea Developmental Testing I (DT-I) for the F-35C, which commenced Nov. 3 and is expected to last two weeks. (Source: NNS, 11/03/14) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: Lockheed, $50M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $49,999,799 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-02-C-3002) for operational and engineering support required to integrate the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter operations with the Queen Elizabeth Class carrier for the government of the United Kingdom. Work will be performed in Samlesbury, U.K. (64 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (26 percent); and Orlando, Fla. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2017. International partner funds in the amount of $10,832,900 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/03/14)

Contract: Raytheon, $85.5M

Raytheon Co. Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., has been awarded a not-to-exceed $85,500,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Griffin missiles and support. Contractor will provide procurement of Griffin A and B Block II/III missiles and test/support equipment under firm-fixed-price contract line item number along with engineering support under a cost-plus-fixed-fee CLIN. Work will be performed at Tucson and is expected to be completed by Oct. 30, 2017. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8656-15-D-0241). (Source: DoD, 11/03/14)

Contract: L-3, $22.4M

L3 Communications Corp., Systems Field Support, Madison, Miss., has been awarded an estimated $22,354,202 firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursement modification (P00028) to previously awarded contract FA8106-11-D-0002 to exercise the option for C-12 contractor logistics support. Work will be performed at Accra, Ghana; Andrews Air Force Base, Md.; Ankara, Turkey; Bangkok, Thailand; Bogota, Columbia; Brasilia, Brazil; Budapest, Hungary; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cairo, Egypt; Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; Gaborone, Botswana; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; Islamabad, Pakistan; Manila, Philippines; Nairobi, Kenya; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; San Angelo, Texas; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Yokota Air Base, Japan, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2015. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/03/14)

Contract: Lockheed, $7.3M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a $7,313,618 modification (P00573) to previously awarded contract FA8611-08-C-2897 for F-22 sustainment training systems hardware retrofits. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.; Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; and Langley Air Force Base, Va., and is expected to be completed by Nov. 3, 2015. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/03/14)

Contract: Multiple, $99.8M

Catalyst Professional Services Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo. (N62645-15-D-5014); Donald L. Mooney Enterprises LLC doing business as Nurses Etc. Staffing, San Antonio, Texas (N62645-15-D-5017); Loyal Source Government Services LLC, Orlando, Fla. (N62645-15-D-5015); Magnum Opus Technologies Inc., San Antonio, Texas (N62645-15-D-5016); and Potomac Healthcare Solutions LLC, Woodbridge, Va. (N62645-15-D-5018), are each being awarded a 42-month, firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award task order contract for various medical services that include the labor categories of Allied Health, Technologist, Technician and Assistant services at Military Treatment Facilities in the Southeastern Region of the United States. The aggregate not-to-exceed amount for these multiple award contracts combined is $99,773,371. These five companies will have the opportunity to bid on each individual task order. Work will be performed at the Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla. (25 percent); Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, Texas (25 percent); Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla. (25 percent); Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, N.C. (10 percent); Naval Hospital Beaufort, S.C. (3 percent); Naval Hospital Cherry Point, N.C. (3 percent); Naval Health Clinic Charleston, S.C. (3 percent); Navy Medicine Operational Training Center Pensacola (3 percent); and associated branch clinics (3 percent). Work is expected to be completed July 31, 2018. The Naval Medical Logistics Command, Fort Detrick, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/03/14)

Blue Angels homecoming near

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Blue Angels will end the show season with a homecoming at Sherman Field at Naval Air Station Pensacola Nov. 7 through Nov. 9. The air show draws an average of 50,000 people on Friday and 100,000 on Saturday, but this year a third day is being added on Sunday. Friday's show is at 4 p.m. and Saturday's and Sunday's will be at 9 a.m. The Blue Angels will perform at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 11/02/14)

F-35 engine fix coming

The head of the F-35 program office said that by the end of December he expects to have decided on a permanent solution for a design issue that caused an F-35A engine to fail in June at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Engine-maker Pratt and Whitney has offered several potential fixes, some of which already are being tested, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan. The engine failure and subsequent fire were the result of micro fractures in one of the three-stage fan sections that compress air before it enters the engine. These sections are lined with a polyimide material that is designed to rub against the fan blades to reduce pressure loss. In the case of AF-27, the third fan rubbed in excess of tolerance during maneuvers several weeks before the failure, causing the blades to heat to about 1,900 degrees -- 900 more than ever expected, Bogdan said. This led to micro fractures in the titanium part of the rotor, which grew over the next few weeks of flying before finally failing. (Source: AFNS, 10/31/14)