Fourth MUOS launched

MUOS launches Wednesday.
United Launch Alliance photo

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. – The Navy's fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite launched Wednesday at 6:18 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 41. MUOS-4, whose signal was acquired some three hours after launch, completes the initial operational constellation and provides near global network coverage for warfighters and combatant commanders. This array allows mobile forces, including submarines, surface ships and aircraft, to communicate around the world via the narrowband spectrum. User communities that will primarily benefit include ground forces at the individual soldier level but also include members of all services and special forces. (Source: NNS, 09/02/15) Gulf Coast note: Work on the core propulsion system for the A2100 satellite-based spacecraft is done by Lockheed Martin at Stennis Space Center, Miss. Previous

Contract: Bell-Boeing, $19.8M

 Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded $19,828,419 for cost-plus- fixed-fee modification to delivery order 0096 previously issued against a basic ordering agreement (N00019-12-G-0006) in support of the V-22. This modification provides for the procurement of additional nonrecurring engineering in support of the MV-22 Integrated Aircraft Survivability Equipment (IASE) universal urgent needs effort as well as 24 MV-22 IASE A-kits. Work will be performed at Ridley Park, Pa. (64 percent); Menlo Park, Calif. (5 percent); Anaheim, Calif. (4 percent); Corona, Calif. (3 percent); Huntington Beach, Calif. (2 percent); St. Louis, Mo. (2 percent); Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (1 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (1 percent); and various locations throughout the U.S. (18 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2017. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/02/15)

Contract: Lockheed, $311.4M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $311,399,980 contract for undefinitized delivery order 5503 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020) for the F-35 Lighting II Block 3F upgrade for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and the government of the United Kingdom. This order procures retrofit modification hardware necessary for the Block 3F upgrades, as well as engineering tasks supporting modification kit installation. Work will be performed in Fort Worth (90 percent); and Baltimore, Md. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. This contract combines purchase for the Air Force (46 percent); Marine Corps (27 percent); Navy (20 percent); and the government of the United Kingdom (7 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/01/15) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: Lockheed, $430.9M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $430,878,490 cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-firm contract for non-air vehicle spares, support equipment, Autonomic Logistics Information System hardware and software upgrades, supply chain management, full mission simulators and non-recurring engineering services in support of low-rate initial production Lot 9 F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense participants, and foreign military sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla. (70 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (17 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (7 percent); Owego, N.Y. (4 percent); Greenville, S.C. (1 percent); and Samlesbury, UK (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2022. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force (32 percent); Navy (7 percent); Marine Corps (8 percent); non-Department of Defense participants (44 percent); and FMS customers (10 percent) under the FMS program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-15-C-0114). (Source: DoD, 08/31/15) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Retired F-15 joins tech center

LYNN HAVEN, Fla. – A retired F-15C Eagle fighter has been transferred from Tyndall Air Force Base to Haney Technical Center on Sunday. The jet was towed from Tyndall, beginning at 5 a.m., and arrived at the school at 9 a.m. Haney's aviation program is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, and an FAA-approved curriculum will be designed around the jet. (Source: News Herald, 08/30/15)

Tyndall F-22s deploy

F-22 deploys to Germany. Air Force photo

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Four Tyndall F-22 Raptors and some 60 airmen assigned to the 325th Fighter Wing arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, today to train with allied air forces and U.S. services through mid-September. This first-ever F-22 training deployment to Europe is funded by the European Reassurance Initiative, and provides support to bolster the security of our NATO Allies and partners in Europe. The training will prove that 5th generation fighters can deploy successfully to European bases and other NATO installations while also affording the chance for familiarization flight training within the European theater. It will also give them the chance to conduct combat air training with different aircraft like U.S. F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 08/28/15)

First RS-25 test series done

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- A former Space Shuttle Main Engine, 0525, that never pushed a Space Shuttle into orbit completed its seventh static fire Thursday in South Mississippi and will now be replaced by flight engine 2059 on the A-1 Test Stand for the next test series. NASA's Space Launch System program will continue high-tempo testing of Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines at SSC through next year in preparation for the SLS vehicles first flight planned for 2018. (Sources: NASA, NASASpaceFlight, 08/27/15)

MQ-8C endurance demonstrated

POINT MUGU, Calif. – Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy demonstrated endurance capabilities with the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. On a planned 10-plus hour flight and range out to 150 nautical miles flight from Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, the MQ-8C Fire Scout achieved 11 hours with over an hour of fuel in reserve. The flight was part of a series of capability based tests used by the Navy to validate their concept of operations and previously tested performance parameters. The MQ-8C Fire Scout completed its developmental flight test program earlier this year and has operational assessment planned for later this year. The MQ-8C Fire Scout has accumulated over 513 flight hours and flown 353 sorties. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 08/25/15) Gulf Coast note: The MQ-8C is built in part in Moss Point, Miss. It's a larger version of the original Fire Scout, the MQ-8B, also built in part in Moss Point.

Bell helo center formally opens

LAFAYETTE, La. – Bell Helicopter announced today the Bell Helicopter Lafayette Assembly Center is officially open for business. The company will assemble the new commercial helicopter, the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, at the new facility. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Steven Grissom and other state, regional and local officials joined Bell Helicopter's president and CEO, John Garrison, to commemorate the occasion Thursday at the Lafayette Regional Airport. Bell Helicopter is a Textron company. (Source: Bell Helicopter, 08/27/15) Bell Helicopter, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, broke ground on the 82,300 square-foot helicopter assembly plant in August 2014. Lafayette is about 135 miles west of New Orleans.

Contract: Lakeview Center, $7.7M

Lakeview Center Inc., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded a $7,737,646 firm-fixed-price contract with options for dining facility attendants and contingency cook support at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2020. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Funding will be determined with each order. Army Contracting Command, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the contracting activity (W911S8-15-D-0005). (Source: DoD, 08/27/15)

Contract: Lockheed, $89.3M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $89,265,000 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-12-C-0070). This modification provides for the system development and demonstration Phase I Increment 2, for the first aircraft arrival and initial operations in support of the F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) air system for the government of Israel under the Foreign Military Sales program. This modification includes the development and demonstration, integration and sustainment planning for the Israel F-35A CTOL Air System. Work will be performed at Fort Worth (67 percent); Redondo Beach, Calif. (12 percent); Orlando, Fla. (10 percent); Samlesbury, U.K. (7 percent); and Newtown, Pa. (4 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2020. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/27/15) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Site in Jackson County certified

The Marianna/Jackson County Distribution/Construction Services Park has become the second certified site in Jackson County, Fla., through Gulf Power's Florida First Sites program. The combined industrial park is 460 acres and is home to Family Dollar Distribution Center, Arizona Chemical and Hanson Precast Concrete. The site is adjacent to Interstate 10 with 213 developable acres available. Florida First Sites was created in 2013 to help communities prepare locations to attract new industries and new jobs to the region. Fourteen sites were initially submitted from public and private landowners. Eight have been certified in Northwest Florida under the program. The seven other Northwest Florida sites that have obtained certification include one more in Jackson County, two in Bay and Santa Rosa counties and one each in Okaloosa and Walton counties. (Source: Gulf Power, 08/27/15)

Historic hangar getting facelift

GULFPORT, Miss. – A hangar at Gulfport International Airport that was used during World War II is receiving a $2 million-plus facelift that will allow it to be used by the Air National Guard's Combat Readiness Training Center. State and local officials unveiled a conceptual drawing Wednesday during a ceremony in front of the hangar. The hangar, built in 1944, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. Airport Executive Director Clay Williams said construction will start in a few weeks and it should be completed in April. The project is funded by a $2 million grant from the Mississippi Development Authority and $400,000 from the airport. (Source: Sun Herald, 08/26/15)

NASA holds small businesses event

NEW ORLEANS -- NASA officials held a networking event Wednesday for small business owners who are interested in doing business with the federal space agency or its contractors. The event, held in conjunction with the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce at the Michoud Assembly Facility, drew a crowd of more than 100 people. The forum’s schedule included a series of panel discussions with NASA representatives. NASA contractors were also on hand to field questions from businesses and discuss opportunities to work together. (Source: The Advocate, 08/26/15)

GKN exec to head Airbus plant

Taylor chosen to head plant in Mobile, Ala.
Photo courtesy Airbus

Airbus has named GKN Aerospace executive Daryl Taylor to head its U.S. manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala. He will replace Ulrich Weber as VP and GM of the $600 million A320 plant at the Mobile Aeroplex. Its first plane will be an A321 for JetBlue, slated for delivery in the spring of 2016. Taylor will oversee all systems and support staff at the plant, reporting to Airbus Americas president Barry Eccleston. Taylor has been VP and GM of GKN Aerospace facilities in Kansas and California, and previously worked for Bombardier. He'll train for his new role at Airbus facilities in Europe before assuming leadership in Mobile in coming months. (Source: Airbus, ATWOnline, WKRG-TV, 08/25/15) The inauguration of the plant is scheduled for Sept. 14.

B-2 test stand tower finished

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – Work has been completed on a steel tower for tests of the world's most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System. Engineers completed the addition of about 1 million pounds of structural steel work on the SLS core stage test frame on the B-2 test stand at SSC. The addition of the structural framework to the historic test stand is needed to support the height and weight of the massive rocket's core stage while allowing test teams access and providing for thrust takeout, which will hold the core stage in place during testing. NASA has been renovating the B-2 Test Stand for more than two years in preparation for the SLS test series. The historic test stand was built in the 1960s and previously used to test both the Saturn V and the space shuttle propulsion system. (Source: NASA/SSC, 08/25/15)

More F-35 training systems ordered

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Cubic Global Defense is to produce and enhance the Air Combat Training System in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the company announced. Included in the work contracted by Lockheed Martin Aerospace is the addition of an internally mounted subsystem of the P5 Combat Training System, or P5CTS, that enables the F-35 to maintain its stealth characteristics while training. The P5 training system is an encrypted system interoperable with the P5CTS/Tactical Combat Training System used by the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, Navy, Marines and international partners. (Source: UPI, 08/20/15) Gulf Coast note: The training systems are used by the military throughout the Gulf Coast region; Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center.

Contract: Potomac River Grp, $35.3M

Potomac River Group LLC, Ashburn, Va., is being awarded a $35,300,000 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to obtain certified contractor support to administer polygraph examinations for Naval Criminal Investigative Service counterintelligence scope polygraph examinations in support of the Navy Insider Threat program. This contract includes a 60-month ordering period. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. (27 percent); San Diego, Calif. (22 percent); Virginia Beach, Va. (14 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (11 percent); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (8 percent); Fort Meade, Md. (7 percent); San Antonio, Texas (7 percent); and Hanover, Md. (4 percent). Work is expected to be completed by August 2020. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Pa., is the contracting activity (N00189-15-D-Z025). (Source: DoD, 08/20/15)

Contracts: Multiple, $490M

AeroJet Rocketdyne Inc., Rancho Cordova, Calif. (FA8656-15-D-0260); BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Nashua, N.H. (FA8656-15-D-0261); The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo. (FA8656-15-D-0262); General Dynamics Inc., Niceville, Fla. (FA8656-15-D-0263); L-3 National Security Solutions Inc., Reston, Va. (FA8656-15-D-0264); Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Fla. (FA8656-15-D-0265); MBDA Inc., Huntsville, Ala. (FA8656-15-D-0266); Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., El Segundo, Calif. (FA8656-15-D-0267); Alliant TechSystems Operations LLC, Rocket Center, W.Va. (FA8656-15-D-0268); Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz. (FA8656-15-D-0269); Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa (FA8656-15-D-0270); Sierra Nevada Corp., Sparks, Nev. (FA8656-15-D-0271); Textron Systems Corp., Wilmington, Mass. (FA8656-15-D-0272); Applied Research Associates Inc., Albuquerque, N.M. (FA8656-15-D-0273); Cummings Aerospace, Huntsville, Ala. (FA8656-15-D-0274); Dynetics Inc., Huntsville, Ala. (FA8656-15-D-0275); HART Technologies, Manassas, Va. (FA8656-15-D-0276); Integrated Solutions for Systems, Huntsville, Ala. (FA8656-15-D-0277); Intuitive Research and Technology Corp., Huntsville, Ala. (FA8656-15-D-0278); SURVICE,* Belcamp, Md. (FA8656-15-D-0279); Systima Inc., Kirkland, Wash. (FA8656-15-D-0280); and Yulista Aviation, Anchorage, Alaska (FA8656-15-D-0281), have been awarded a ceiling $490,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Agile Acquisition program. Contractors will provide for pre-program activities, technology development activities, engineering and manufacturing activities, and production activities for development of new systems or modification of existing systems. The location of performance is Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The work is expected to be completed by Aug. 30, 2020. Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Rapid Acquisition Cell, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. (Source: 08/20/15)

Contract: Lockheed, $82.8M

Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems, Inc., Bethesda, Md., was awarded an $82,751,404 cost-plus-fixed-fee incrementally funded contract for next generation technical services. Work will be performed in Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; Stennis Space Center, Miss.; Vicksburg, Miss.; Lorton, Va.; and Bethesda with an estimated completion date of June 19, 2016. Fiscal 2014/2015 research, development, testing and evaluation funds in the amount of $14,400,505 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity (W912DY-15-F-0164). (Source: DoD, 08/19/15)