F-35Cs to use Meridian OLF

Navy and Marine F-35C pilots training at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., are expected to start two weeks of practice carrier-landing training Aug. 6 at the Naval Air Station Meridian’s Outlying Field Joe Williams in Kemper County. The F-35C pilots will be conducting the practices during daylight hours. The F-35C is a long-range stealth strike fighter built with larger wing surfaces and reinforced landing gear designed for carrier operations. (Source: Meridian Star, 08/03/16)

Contract: Cutter, $16M

Cutter Enterprises LLC, Vernon-Rockville, Conn., was awarded a $16,065,460 firm-fixed-price contract for a design-build fuel cell maintenance hangar. Bids were solicited via the Internet with six received. Work will be performed at Hurlburt Field, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 19, 2018. Fiscal 2012 military construction funds in the amount of $16,065,460 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity (W91278-16-C-0021). (Source: DoD, 08/02/16)

AF declares F-35A combat-ready

The Air Force today declared its first squadron of F-35As ready for battle. The milestone means that the service can now send its first operational F-35 formation, the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, into combat operations anywhere in the world. The service, which plans to buy 1,763 of the Lockheed Martin F-35As, is the single-largest customer of the fighter. The Air Force follows the Marine Corps in approving F-35s for operations. (Source: Defense News, Salt Lake City Tribune, Bloomberg, 08/02/16) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: Rockhill, $7.6M

The Rockhill Group Inc., Molino, Fla., has been awarded a $7,610,538 fixed-price with cost-reimbursable line items contract for air and ground training support. Contractor will furnish all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and all other items and services that are required to support MQ-1/9 RPA with air and ground intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Work will be performed at Holloman Air Force Base (AFB), N.M.; Creech AFB, Nev.; March Air National Guard Base (ANGB), Calif.; and Hancock ANGB, N.Y., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2017. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with seven offers received. Fiscal 2016 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,534 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va., is the contracting activity (FA4890-16-C-0011). (Source: DoD, 08/01/16)

Allegiant to buy 12 A320s

Allegiant Travel Co., of Las Vegas, Nev., has signed a purchase agreement for 12 Airbus A320ceo (current engine option) aircraft. This deal marks the first time the low-cost airline has purchased new aircraft from any manufacturer. Each will be powered by CFM56 engines from CFM International. The company's current fleet plan is focused on a transition to all Airbus aircraft including a mix of previously-owned aircraft along with those included in this deal. (Source: Airbus, 07/29/16) Gulf Coast note: Airbus builds A320 series jetliners in Mobile, Ala., for customers in North America.

RS-25 has another test

RS-25 test at SSC. NASA/SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA engineers conducted a successful developmental test of RS-25 rocket engine No. 0528 today to collect critical performance data for the Space Launch System (SLS). The engine fired a full 650-second test on the A-1 Test Stand. The SLS will launch humans deeper into space than ever before. Four Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines, joined with a pair of solid rocket boosters, will power the SLS core stage. The RS-25 engines used on the first four SLS flights are former space shuttle main engines, modified to operate at a higher performance level and with a new engine controller, which allows communication between the vehicle and engine. NASA conducted a series of developmental tests on the engine last year before testing a flight engine that will be used on its second test flight, Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2). EM-2 will be the first crewed flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, launching on the SLS. A second series of developmental tests began July 14. The test was conducted by a team of NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Syncom Space Services engineers and operators. (Source: NASA/SSC, 07/29/16) Previous related: RS-25 has early shutdown; RS-68A successfully tested

New Orleans airport cost leader

The New Orleans airport has the lowest average airfares of 10 airports in the Gulf Coast I-10 region. According to 1st quarter data from the Federal Aviation Administration's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Louis Armstrong International (MSY) had an average fare of $324.90 -- the only airport in the region with a fare below the national average of $361.20. Pensacola International Airport (PNS) was second in the region with an average fare of $454.77, followed by Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) at $463.41, Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) at $472.22, Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional Airport (PIB) was $479.25, Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR) at $489.30, Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) at $512.26, Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) at $554.86, Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) at $574.79, and Dothan Regional Airport (DHN) at $721.69. (Source: GCRL, 07/28/16) FAA release

Gulf site of UAV swarm test

The Navy will conduct two technology demonstrations of swarming unmanned vehicles over the next nine weeks. In the first demonstration Friday, a "flock" of 30 unmanned aerial vehicles will fly over the Gulf of Mexico. The LOCUST (Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology), first demonstrated in 2014, use a tube launcher that can propel the 30 UAVs within two minutes. An information-sharing data link between the UAVs enables autonomous collaboration. They will form up and four will break off and perform an unspecified task. The next demonstration in September will feature swarming unmanned surface vehicles. (Source: Sea Power 07/22/16)

Last Raider will dedicate exhibit

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – The co-pilot who sat next to Jimmy Doolittle during the bombing run over Japan five months after Pearl Harbor will be on hand to dedicate the newly remodeled Doolittle Raiders exhibit at the Air Force Armament Museum. Retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole will attend the July 30 ceremony at the museum just outside Eglin Air Force Base. The ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. Lt. Gen. Marshall "Brad" Webb, commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command at nearby Hurlburt Field, will be the featured speaker. Cole, who is 100, is the last surviving member of the Doolittle Raiders. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 07/26/16) Eighty airmen took off from the USS Hornet April 18, 1942, to bomb the Japanese homeland. The attack helped lift U.S. morale early in the war. The crews trained at Eglin.

Contract: Harris, $8.5M

Harris Corp., Colorado Springs, Colo., has been awarded a $8,541,525 modification (P00685) to previously awarded contract F19628-02-C-0010 for the Eglin Beam Steer Segment technology refresh, System Program Agency development and risk reduction efforts. Contractor work includes establishing the BEAMSTR lab environment; conducting trade studies and analysis; prototyping solutions and reduce risk of implementation of the BEAMSTR replacement project. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be complete by Oct. 31, 2017. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity. (Source: 07/26/16)

Contract: Vanquish, $7.3M

Vanquish Worldwide LLC, Maryville, Tenn., was awarded a $7,267,496 modification (0001) to contract W52P1J-14-G-0026 for supply, maintenance and transportation for logistics support services, Fort Rucker, Ala., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2017. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity. (Source: 07/26/16)

Aero state's 2nd largest in growth

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- Agriculture and tourism continue to be vital to Alabama's economy, but the second largest growing industry sector now is aerospace. That's according to Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, who made the comment at the Economic Development Association of Alabama's annual summer conference Monday. He said the arrival of Airbus in Mobile "is going to bring great results for this region for months and years to come.” (Source: WKRG-TV, 07/25/16)

JetBlue increases A321 order

JetBlue has amended its purchase agreement with Airbus to include an additional 15 Airbus A321ceo (current engine option) and 15 A321neo (new engine option) jetliners. The New York-based airline, which already operates A321s, has not announced its engine selection for the newly ordered aircraft. Beginning in 2019, JetBlue has the flexibility to configure the New Engine Option aircraft to the Longer Range version of the A321 – the A321LR. Many of JetBlue’s newly ordered aircraft are expected to be assembled at the Airbus plant in Mobile, Ala. The first aircraft to be produced at the Airbus' U.S. Manufacturing Facility, a JetBlue A321 known as BluesMobile, is on public display today at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisc. BluesMobile entered service in the spring. (Source: Airbus, 07/26/16) More reading: Order opens door to European routes, Bloomberg, 07/26/16

Contract: Boeing, $12M

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded $12,053,076 for cost-plus-fixed-fee, delivery order 0002 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0001) for non-recurring design and development engineering for an engineering change proposal for the “Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron (Blue Angels) Super Hornet Conversion.” Work will be performed in St. Louis (82.8 percent); and El Segundo, Calif. (17.2 percent), and is expected to be completed September 2017. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/25/16) The Blue Angels are based at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.

Contract: UTC, $11.4M

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded $11,418,713 for modification P00016 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive-firm, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-14-C-0026). This modification exercises an option for the supplies and services to implement engineering changes to the Rolls Royce lift fan systems and engine ice protection system in support of the F-35 for the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and international partners. Work will be performed at Indianapolis, Ind. (97 percent); and Oklahoma City, Okla. (3 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2017. This modification combines purchases for the Marine Corps (97.32 percent); Navy (0.75 percent); Air Force (0.62 percent); and international partners (1.31 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/25/16) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: L-3, $216.4M

L-3 Communications Corp. System Field Support, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $216,370,058 modification (P00196) to contract W58RGZ-10-C-0107 for 12 months of continued contractor aircraft logistics support. Work will be performed in Madison with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2017. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/25/16)

Plane makes emergency stop

An American Eagle flight from Pensacola to Miami, Fla., with 46 passengers had to make an emergency landing in Panama City, Fla., Wednesday morning after the pilot reported the smell of smoke in the cockpit. Flight 3260, a 50-passenger Embraer ERJ 145, left Pensacola International Airport at 6:10 a.m., and 20 minutes into the flight landed at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Passengers were taken to Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport by bus for a replacement flight. (Sources: WEAR, WJHG, 07/20/16)

Contract: Lockheed, $7.3M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training, King of Prussia, Pa., has been awarded a $7,342,492, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) Enterprise Management System 5.0. This contract provides for enhancements to the software package known as the JASSM Enterprise Management System. Work will be performed at King of Prussia and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2017. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin, Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8682-16-C-0091). (Source: DoD, 07/20/16)

Contract: Lockheed, $241.8M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $241,765,645 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-13-C-0008) for procurement of diminishing manufacturing sources electronic components. The modification will support aircraft production through Lot 15 for U.S. and international facilities for the F-35. Work will be performed in Burlington, Vt. (98 percent); and Fort Worth (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2018. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force (49.17 percent); Marine Corps (17.91 percent); Navy (12.45 percent); foreign military sales customers (10.93 percent); and the international partners (9.54 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting authority. (Source: DoD, 07/19/16)

RS-68A successfully tested

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- Aerojet Rocketdyne on Friday successfully completed its latest acceptance test on a liquid-fueled RS-68A booster engine, used to power United Launch Alliance's Delta IV launch vehicle. The routine three-minute hot-fire test was conducted by the company's Center of Excellence for Large Liquid Rocket Engine Assembly and Test at SSC. This is Aerojet Rocketdyne's 119th hot-fire test on the production model of the RS-68 engine family. The RS-68A is the world's most powerful liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen booster engine and provides 702,000 pounds of lift-off thrust, some 17 million horsepower. The test of the RS-68A, certified for use in 2011, is part of acceptance testing done to validate engine performance before delivery to the customer in Decatur, Ala. (Source: Aerojet Rocketdyne, 07/15/16)