F-35C hits weapons milestone

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- The F-35 integrated test force aboard Naval Air Station Patuxent River completed a weapons ejection milestone for the F-35 carrier variant Wednesday. CF-2, the second F-35C test aircraft, ejected a 2,000-pound inert GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and a 500-pound GBU-12 Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb from an internal weapons bay into a foam-covered concrete pit, completing the series of first-ever ground weapons ejections for the F-35C. The team also successfully ejected the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). Overall, the team completed eleven weapon releases, split between the left and right weapon bays, earlier than planned. (Source: NNS, 11/30/12) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the F-35 training center, that will train pilots and maintainers for the three F-35 variants. Previous related

Airport director leaving

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Melinda Crawford is leaving her post as director of Pensacola International Airport to take a similar job in Charlottesville, Va., according to the Pensacola News Journal. Named director in December 2009, Crawford will remain airport director in Pensacola until mid-February. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 11/30/12)

Contract: CCI, $10M

CCI Group LLC, Shalimar, Fla., is being awarded a $10,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for simplified acquisition of base engineering requirements-maintenance, repair and minor construction efforts. The location of the performance is Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Work is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2013. The contracting activity is AFTC/PZIO, Eglin Air Force Base. (Source: DoD, 11/30/12)

Contract: BAE Systems, $76.6M

BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services Inc., Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $76,599,316 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for organizational, intermediate, depot level maintenance to support to support T-34 and T-44 aircraft. In addition this contract provides logistics support including labor, services, facilities, equipment, tools, related support equipment, and direct and indirect material to support 124 T-34, 55 T-44, 42 T-6A, and 141 T-6B aircraft based primarily at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas, NAS Whiting Field, Fla., and NAS Pensacola, Fla. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi (50 percent), Whiting Field (39 percent), Pensacola (8 percent), and various sites within the continental U. S. (3 percent) including: NAS Lemoore, Calif.; Strike Fighter Weapons School, NAS Oceana, Va.; Marine Corp Air Station Miramar, Calif.; Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Huntsville, Ala.; and NAS Fallon, Nev. Work is expected to be completed in September 2013. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/30/12)

Test stand contract awarded

NORWALK, Conn. -- EMCOR Group Inc., announced that its subsidiary, Harry Pepper and Associates, has been awarded a task order by NASA under a previously awarded contract. The task order is for restoration of the B-2 Rocket Test Stand at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss. Harry Pepper and Associates will be responsible for all repairs and alterations necessary to restore the original functionality of the B-2 test stand. Work includes demolishing one of the major levels/decks of the test stand, reconstructing it with stainless steel structural framing and deck plate, and restoring its various areas of fixed deck by replacing the carbon steel, galvanized grating, and structural steel. (Source: Business Wire, 11/28/12)

Museum opening space exhibit

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is opening a new space-themed exhibit to mark the 40th anniversary of the last walk on the moon. Former astronauts John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin, James Lovell, Gene Krantz, Fred Haise, Eugene Cernan and more are all scheduled to attend the Dec. 15 opening of the exhibit, which will feature a full-scale replica of an Apollo Lunar Excursion Module. (Source: al.com, link, 11/29/12)

UNO gets NASA grant

NEW ORLEANS -- The University of New Orleans is getting a three-year, $1.5 million grant from NASA to develop improvements to the nation's air traffic control system. The research is for the federal government project called "NextGen," a comprehensive overhaul of the air traffic system to increase capacity and safety. UNO researchers will be joined on the project by colleagues from LSU and Southern University. (Source: UNO, 11/29/12)

X-47B launched by catapult

Preparing for first catpult launc of X-47B
Northrop Grumman photo
 

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- Northrop Grumman and the Navy conducted the Navy's first catapult launch of an unmanned system. The test of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator was conducted Thursday at a shore-based catapult facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. It marks the first of several shore-based catapult-to-flight tests that will be performed before the Navy's UCAS Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program catapult launches the X-47B from a ship. Northrop Grumman is the Navy's prime contractor for the UCAS-D program. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 11/29/12) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of two other UAVs, Global Hawk and Fire Scout, in Moss Point, Miss. Previous

NASA evaluating Orion cracks

NASA is evaluating options to repairing the first Orion crew capsule set to fly in space after it developed cracks during pressure tests at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The test was designed to demonstrate weld strength and structural performance at maximum flight operation pressures. The damage is not expected to delay a 2014 test flight, where the capsule without a crew will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV to a distance 3,600 miles above the Earth. Orion is being developed to fly astronauts on deep space exploration missions. (Source: Florida Today, 11/28/12) The olive green aluminum alloy core of the Orion was built at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Bentley touts workforce

HAMBURG, Germany -- In a speech at the Aviation Forum 2012, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley touted the state's workforce and training programs as benefits for suppliers. Bentley is in Germany this week with a delegation of economic developers and elected officials trying to lure business related to Airbus' planned $600 million A320 assembly plant in Mobile. He said suppliers can benefit from the same positive business climate that helped attract Airbus. (Source: al.com, link, 11/28/12)

Airline may be sued

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- Northwest Florida Regional Airport officials say they've tried to work with Vision Airlines to settle its debt, but that may change soon. Vision owes the airport $146,973, and is no longer communicating. Okaloosa County Airports Director Greg Donovan plans to ask the county commission at its second meeting in December for permission to send the airline a notice that legal action will be filed if it doesn’t repay the debt. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 11/28/12) The airline no longer serves the airport.

Groundbreaking scheduled

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal will host a ground breaking ceremony at 9 a.m. Dec. 5 for the future site of the Ground Ordnance Division and Tools and Methods Division's building. The hour-long ceremony will take place directly behind the Kauffman Training Complex, Building 8840, Range Road, Niceville, Fla. (Source: NAVSCOLEOD public affairs, 11/29/12)

Keesler finalist for award

The Pentagon has selected Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., as one of two top finalists in the U.S. Air Force for the Commander-in-Chief's Installation Excellence Award. Keesler, in Biloxi, will compete against McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., for the award. The final selection board will visit both bases in January. The winner will receive a $1 million award to invest in a quality-of-life element of the base. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/28/12)

Contract: Sikorsky, $12.5M

Sikorsky Support Services Inc., Pensacola, Fla., is being awarded a $12,522,539 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery, requirements contract for additional logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance to support 179 T-34, 54 T-44 and 192 T-6 aircraft based primarily at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, NAS Whiting Field, Fla., and NAS Pensacola, Fla. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi (50 percent), Whiting Field (39 percent), Pensacola, (8 percent), and various sites within the continental United States (3 percent) including NAS Lemoore, Calif.; NAS Patuxent River, Md.; Oceana, Va.; Marine Corp Air Station Miramar, Calif.; Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Huntsville, Ala.; and NAS Fallon, Nev. Work is expected to be completed in January 2013. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/28/12)

Alabama pushes for suppliers

A contingent led by Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has met with nine companies in Germany about a possible move to the state, Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said from Hamburg. That's according to al.com. The group is at the Aviation Forum, a supplier conference that has drawn more than 300 people representing about 150 companies. Alabama economic developers and elected officials are working to lure suppliers tied to Airbus' planned $600 million A320 assembly line at Brookley Aeroplex, which will begin producing planes in 2015. (Source: al.com, link, 11/27/12)

J-2X test conducted

J-2X test at Stennis Space Center, Miss.
NASA/SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- A J-2X power pack assembly had a hot fire test Nov. 27 at NASA's Stennis Space Center. Engineers pulled the assembly from the test stand in September to install additional instrumentation in the fuel turbopump. The test, which ran for 278 seconds, verified the newly installed strain gauges designed to measure the turbine structural strain when the turbopump is spinning at high speeds that vary between 25,000 and 30,000 rotations-per-minute. The J-2X engine, built by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., will power the upper stage of NASA's Space Launch System, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The new heavy-lift rocket system will launch the Orion spacecraft and enable humans to explore new destinations beyond low Earth orbit. (Source: NASA/SSC, 11/27/12)

X-47B makes history on carrier

X-47B hoisted aboard USS Harry S. Truman
Navy photo

NORFOLK, Va. -- The Navy hoisted an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator on board aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Monday in preparation for the unmanned aircraft's first carrier-based testing. The X-47B, built by Northrop Grumman, has a wingspan of more than 62 feet, wider than an F/A-18 Super Hornet. It will undergo a variety of tests and will be controlled remotely via a hand-held unit. Truman will be the first modern aircraft carrier to host test operations for an unmanned aircraft. Capt. Jaime Engdahl, N-UCAS program manager, said the X-47B's delivery aboard Truman was among the most historic moments in the program's history. "The moment the aircraft set down on Truman's deck was the moment it officially met the fleet," said Engdahl. The test will be conducted over three weeks and will include in-port and underway demonstrations. (Source: NNS, 11/27/12) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of two other UAVs, Global Hawk and Fire Scout, in Moss Point, Miss.

Test complex has busy week

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- The E Test Complex at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center was busy the week of Nov. 5. Twenty seven tests were conducted over three days on three different rocket engines/components and on three E Complex test stands. These included tests on the three stands during a 24-hour period Nov. 6-7 and during a nine-hour-plus period on Nov. 8. Test managers characterized the convergence of tests as historic. (Source: Lagniappe, November issue)

Contract: Boeing, $178.6M

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $178,575,114 cost-plus-incentive fee contract for Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) Phase 1 of the B61-12 Tailkit Assembly. This contract also includes a priced option for (EMD) Phase 2 and price goals for the production phase. The location of the performance is St. Louis, Mo. Work is expected to be completed by October 2015. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/EBBC, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: DoD, 11/27/12)

UAV site contest shelved

The Federal Aviation Administration has indefinitely shelved competition to select six test sites to assess whether unmanned aerial vehicles can be integrated into manned airspace. The agency was to have named the six sites by next month, but missed a July deadline for requesting applications. Now the FAA says it needs to delay the competition because it needs to first address privacy concerns raised by the use of drone aircraft in the nation's airspace. The goal of the test sites is to determine whether UAVs can safely be operated alongside manned aircraft by 2015. (Source: Defense Communities, 11/26/12) Gulf Coast note: The region is involved in UAV activities.